List Of South Africa’s Shock Defeats
South Africa was one of the pre-tournament favourites heading into the T20 World Cup 2022. They had the batting might, efficient spinners, and a pace arsenal to vouch for. Apart from their captain whose strongest suit isn’t T20Is, South Africa had everything going for them. They played like favourites too for a large part of the group stage. Let us look at List Of South Africa’s Shock Defeats in details.
South Africa brushed aside Bangladesh and was almost home against Zimbabwe while holding their nerve against India. But it all came crashing down in their last two games. South Africa failed to move to the semis.
We look at the List Of South Africa‘s Shock Defeats:
#5 The quarterfinal dust- 2011
South Africa was the form team of the tournament in the 2011 ODI World Cup. They had beaten home side India in their league engagement. This win helped them top the table. South Africa came up against New Zealand in the quarters. Kiwis had posted a modest score of 222 batting first.
South Africa looked on course to win this knockout game. But an altercation between a substitute kiwi fielder and a set SA batter changed the momentum of the game. South Africa went down against the Kiwis from a position of absolute strength.
#4 The D/L rule that sealed their fate – 1992
It was the semifinal of the 1992 World Cup. South Africa was guilty of bowling their overs slow in a rain-affected game. This indiscipline later came back to bite them in the most unfortunate of circumstances. Chasing a par score, South Africa’s innings went down to the wire. They needed 22 runs off 13 balls as per the Duckworth-Lewis method.
It still seemed doable but further rains reduced the balls to 7 while the runs required remained the same. As a final nail was hammered, the target was revised to scoring 22 runs off 1 ball thereby effectively eliminating the best team of the tournament. This marked South Africa’s tryst with ICC tournaments.
#3 The homecoming that ended in disaster – 2003
There was a lot of excitement surrounding South Africa playing hosts to the 2003 ODI World Cup. The Proteas’ fans believed this could be the moment when their hoodoo could be broken. South Africa was the most consistent ODI side right since their re-admission into cricket. But they didn’t have any ICC silverware to show for it.
The home World Cup was meant to soothe this pain. But an underrated Windies side put their hopes on the spanners in the very first game. South Africa couldn’t really recover from the loss. They crashed out of the tournament owing to a calculation error from the team management. It is at this moment that fans and experts believed South Africa is its bigger enemy than its opponents.
#2 The Birmingham brain fade, 1999
There is little doubt that South Africa was the team of the tournament in 1999. Lance Klusener, the side’s talisman was the leading player of the World Cup. He won South Africa many games entirely on his own. But two losses at two stages ruined Africa’s campaign. They lost to an innocuous Zimbabwean side in the league stage. A catch drop cost them the game against Australia in super 6. It needed them to win their semifinal game against the Aussies as a tie wouldn’t suffice.
South Africa needed 1 run to win off 3 balls with a wicket in hand. Klusener smashed the ball to mid-off and started running mindlessly. Allan Donald at the non-striker’s end remained ball-watching. The game ended in a tie, and it ended in heartbreak for South Africa.
#1 The orange win nobody saw coming, 2022
South Africa’s win over India earned them the tag of tournament favourites. Cricketing fans and experts believed they are the team to beat this edition. Pakistan halted their juggernaut handing them a humbling defeat. South Africa needed a win over the Netherlands in the last game to secure a semifinal spot. It was expected to be a relatively easy game for the Proteas. They won the toss and inexplicably chose to field on a two-paced wicket.
The Netherlands scored 158 batting first, a score that certainly seemed above par but not out of reach. South Africa appeared timid in their run-chase and eventually lost the game by 13 runs. They crashed out of the tournament in ways only they could conjure up. The dreaded ‘chokers’ tag made its infamous appearance post the game. It felt as if South African cricket came full circle in these 20 years.
