South Africa choked once again when it mattered the most as they lost a crucial T20 World Cup encounter by 13 runs to minnows Netherlands at the Adelaide Oval. A match where a win could have meant a semi-final spot for the Proteas, turned out to be the most demoralising low. Although, it wasn’t as low as Hansie Cronje affair, but this will rankle Temba Bavuma led side. Who knows, an out of form Bavuma might resign from captaincy in the aftermath. Meanwhile we take a look at the last five big occasions in cricket where the Proteas stood true to their ‘chokers’ tag.
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1992 World Cup Semi-Final: It all really began within a year of their return to international cricket. Here it must be mentioned that South Africa were suspended from world cricket due to the apartheid era which was nothing but a dark chapter for their cricket history. Although, they made a great comeback, a semi-final upset was waiting on these very shores of Australia. Chasing 253 against England, South Africa needed 22 off 13 when the rain arrived. When the game resumed, the equation had changed to 21 off 1 balls thanks to the rain rule prevalent at that time! It was impossible to win. Brian Mcmillan took a single and head off for pavilion.
1999 World Cup Semi-Final: The second semi-final was perhaps one of the best cricket matches ever played. Batting first, South Africa had managed to restrict Australia to a below-par 218. South Africa began their chase well with Gary Kirsten and Herschell Gibbs putting on 48 for the first wicket before Shane Warne removed the openers and skipper Hansie Cronje within two overs.It all came down to 9 off 6 when Lance Klusner found two boundaries to reduce the equation to 1 off 4. The Proteas were the clear winners, but that’s not how it ended. South Africa failed to knock off the winning runs and the match was tied. Meanwhile Australia advanced.
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2003 World Cup Group Stage Match: Despite playing on their home soil, it came down to a must-win situation against Sri Lanka in their last Super Six match. Chasing 269, South Africa went about their chase matching their scores with the Duckworth-Lewis targets even as rain was just around the corner. The hosts were at 223/6 from 44.4 overs, and the D/L par score at the end of 45 overs was 229.
Meanwhile Mark Boucher lofted Muralitharan for a six off the next delivery and thought like he had accomplished his mission. Nevertheless, as it turned out that South Africa had again faltered. They needed a single off the last ball, but Boucher played out a dot ball. The game was tied and Proteas were knocked out.
2011 World Cup Semifinal: After Restricting New Zealand to 221, South Africa were on course for an easy win with the score reading 108/2 after 24 overs with two set batsmen in Kallis and AB De Villiers at the crease.
Kallis was dismissed by Southee and was soon followed by JP Duminy. The same over, a horrible mix-up between Faf Du Plessis and AB de Villiers, led to the latter being run-out in a disastrous fashion. The Kiwi spinners then continued to strangle the batsmen, and South Africa lost their last eight wickets for just 64 runs as they were bundled out for just 172.
2015 World Cup Semi-Final: Four years later, South Africa faced another knock out against the same opposition. The AB de Villiers-led Proteas side had won the toss and opted to bat first. They eventually managed to post a total of 281/5 from 43 overs.
Set a revised target of 298, New Zealand went after the target all guns blazing. Towards the end, a crucial partnership between Grant Elliot and Corey Anderson meant that the match was always hanging in the balance. In the 32nd over, AB de Villiers missed a run out and New Zealand made sure South Africa pays for it when they knocked them out of the tournament.
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