Il Nuovo Postiglione - South Africa "gutted" after final loss to India

Having ended a run of seven semi-final losses -- in both short-form formats -- with their victory over Afghanistan on Wednesday, the Proteas came agonisingly close to their maiden World Cup title.

Heinrich Klaasen's blistering 52 from 27 balls, with five sixes and two fours, put South Africa in position to win before India's 'death' bowlers turned the screw.

"Obviously gutted. It will take some time for us to reflect on this. We've had a great campaign but for the time being, this hurts. I am so proud of all my players and everyone involved in this team," said Markram.

"We bowled very well, the pitch didn't give them much to work with. We thought it was a chaseable total. It was a great game of cricket, I'm chuffed with all my guys, it's hard not to get over the line but I'll always be proud of them," he said.

"We've seen that it's not over until the last ball for a lot of our games. It changed quickly at the end there. But we were in a great position. We know we could've won the game," he added.

Markram said he was proud that the hunger for success that his team had shown throughout their unbeaten run to the final had been evident until the very end.

"One thing you can guarantee from South African people is that they are competitive, but they are respectful. We pride ourselves on that. Hopefully moving forward we can learn from this and use it.

"This will always be a proud day for us, regardless," he said.

South Africa's only major honour in the game is the Champions Trophy title won in 1998.

M.Vacanti--INP