“We’re performing as a team,” said South African fast bowler, Kagiso Rabada, after South Africa defeated Bangladesh by six wickets.

Rabada delivered a match-winning bowling performance, picking three wickets and conceding 20 runs in his quota of four overs.

“It feels great. Wherever I can contribute to the team’s success, I will take it, even if I’m not taking wickets. But on a personal note, it feels good to take wickets, especially up front in the powerplay, making inroads.”

Rabada explained the team was keen on starting well. “It was crucial for us not to take the foot off the pedal, and every bowler that came on made sure they stuck to the game plan, and I think that got us to get into an even more powerful position.”

Statistics suggested that Rabada was more effective in the UAE when he bowled outside the powerplay. Against Bangladesh, he delivered mighty blows through the course of the powerplay. “I guess the conditions were in my favour. All I had to do was get the ball in the right area.”

Rabada is confident in South Africa’s ability to compete against England, who have put in dominant performances through this tournament. “I guess we can take confidence out of our team performances as a collective heading into the England game. We know it’s going to be a very tough game.”

Rabada revealed that South Africa had one eye on their net run-rate, and aimed to complete the chase in 15 overs.

“We tried to finish the game as early as possible, and I think we’re happy with where we finished the game. But in saying that, we just try to keep it really as simple as possible.

“But yeah, there was a clear instruction that we should try to finish the game — there was a clear instruction that we needed to try and finish the game before 15, and we did that.”