'Happy' De Villiers claims Proteas 'very excited' for knockout stages in WC

South Africa cricket team captain AB de Villiers has claimed that he is extremely happy that the team has made it to the quarterfinals and insisted that his players are very excited for the knockout stage in the World Cup.

South Africa cruised into the quarterfinals with a 146-run win over the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, having sealed second place in Pool B behind India. The win came easy as South Africa set a 342-run target after being sent in to bat first, then bowling the UAE out for 195.

Skipper De Villiers continued his dominant form with a Man-of-the-Match performance to smash 99 off 82 balls, while Farhaan Behardien contributed a rollicking 64 from 31, Sport24 reported.

The win, which sets up a likely quarterfinal clash with Sri Lanka in Sydney next Wednesday, would help erase memories of South Africa's shock loss to Pakistan in their previous Pool B outing.

De Villiers said that the pre-tournament favourites were confident going into the final eight, despite losses to India and Pakistan in the group stages. He claimed that he is extremely happy, adding that it's never a given that one is going to make the quarterfinals in the World Cup.

De Villiers said that it's a huge opportunity for them as a team, adding that they have got a lot of people back home who they represent and this is the position they want to be in, representing them in a quarterfinal knock-out match. He insisted that they are very excited.

The result has left the UAE winless at the tournament, with their final chance to snatch a victory coming against the West Indies in Napier on Sunday, the report added.