T20 World Cup: Heartbreak for South Africa again on the big stage

The word ‘choker’ was trending on Twitter after the South African cricket team failed to live up to the hype once again on a big stage. The Proteas were stunned by the Netherlands, a defeat that knocked them out of the T20 World Cup.

It is a tournament in which they were seen as a contender for the title, especially after their impressive win over India.

South Africa came well-prepared for this World Cup in Australia and most of the players looked in prime touch, barring their captain Temba Bavuma.

They dominated the first game against Zimbabwe until the rain came to their neighbours’ rescue. The rains robbed South Africa of a point, bringing back memories of their painful defeat to England in the rain-hit 1992 World Cup semifinal in Australia.

In that unforgettable match at the Sydney Cricket Ground on March 22, 1992, the South Africans needed 21 off 13 balls with four wickets in hand against England when rain stopped play.

But when play resumed, South Africa, under the lowest-scoring-over rain rules, needed 21 off one ball, ruining a classic contest between two great teams.

The current South African team is not among the greatest sides they have produced. But they came into the tournament in Australia on the back of some fine performances and a formidable pace bowling attack.

They looked good against Bangladesh and outplayed them before beating India with hostile pace at the bouncy Perth wicket where the calm head of David Miller aced the chase in a low-scoring game.

Despite their defeat to Pakistan, no one could have imagined that the Proteas would suffer such a collapse against the Netherlands.