South Africa has successfully qualified for the finals of the ICC men’s T20 World Cup 2024 by defeating Afghanistan with a dominating 9 wicket.
Afghanistan has first time made it into the semi finals of the T20 World Cup 2024 but the Story with South Africa is a bit different as they are yet to win any ICC trophies.
South Africa has qualified for the Semi-final for the eighth time in any ICC tournament and they made it into the finals this time however seven heartbreaking losses are hidden behind this final qualification.
South Africa will look to convert their maiden Final match into their first-ever ICC trophy as the second finalist is yet to be defined and Semi-final-2 India vs England will decide the second Finalist.
Out of 7 Semi-Final losses, 5 are ODI World Cup losses including 1 tie that eventually resulted in loss while 2 in T20 World Cup.
Click here to read more: Sandeep Lamichhane’s inclusion in GT20 Canada.
5 ODI World Cup losses
South Africa had a record of 5 heart-breaking ODI World Cup losses in their name. They had their first loss in 1992 and the latest in 2023.
1992 South Africa vs England
South Africa qualified for the semi-final for the first time in 1992. South Africa played the 2nd semi-final at Sydney Cricket Ground on March 22, 1992, against England.
South Africa won the toss and elected to bowl first however the rain interrupted the gameplay and the DlS method came into play. England batting first set the total of 252 runs in 45 overs and South Africa need 253 runs off 45 overs.
However, South Africa only managed to post 232 runs to the boards losing 6 wickets in 43 overs as the DLS method came into play again in the second innings.
As a result, England won by 19 runs under the revised target and England advanced to the final.
1999 South Africa vs Australia
South Africa played their second ODI World Cup Semi-final against Australia on June 17, 1999, at Edgbaston, Birmingham stadium. South Africa won the coin-flip and elected to bowl first, Australia posted 213 runs losing all wickets in 49.2 overs.
Michael Bevan was the highest scorer for Australia with 65 runs in 101 deliveries followed by Steve Waugh with 56 runs in 76 deliveries. Shaun Pollock bagged 5 wickets and became the highest wicket-taker for South Africa.
South Africa in run chase also managed to post 213 runs as they also got bundled up in 49.4 overs Jacques Kallis was the highest scorer for South Africa in the match with 53 runs in 92 deliveries. Shane Warne bagged 3 important wickets and was the highest wicket-taker and Player of the Match for Australia.
The tie resulted on a good note for Australia as Australia advanced to the finals based on their ranking higher on the super six points table. South Africa remains unlucky yet again.
2007 South Africa vs Australia
South Africa again got a chance to lock horns against Australia in a Semi-final game at Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia on April 25, 2007. 1999 Loss against Australia.
South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first this time looking to take revenge for 1999’s semi-final loss against Australia but the acting decision backfired for South Africa.
South Africa got bundled up for just 149 runs in 43.5 overs. Justin Kemp was the highest run scorer for the A side with 49 runs in 91 deliveries followed by Herschelle Gibs’s 39 runs in 49 deliveries.
Shaun Tait bagged 4 wickets in his 10-over spell and conceded just 39 runs while Glenn McGarth bagged 3 wickets conceding just 18 runs in 8 overs for Australia.
Australia in below par runchase chased the target within just 31.3 overs, Michael Clarke remained unbeaten for the side and scored the highest number of runs i.e. 60 runs in 83 deliveries sealing another final for Australia and the third-breaking Semi-final exit for South Africa as they lost the match by 7 wickets.
2015 South Africa vs New Zealand
South Africa failed to qualify ofor2011 World Cup Semis but managed to qualify again in 2the 015 World Cup Semifinals.
The match was played on March 24, 2015, South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first at the eEdenpark stadium.
South Africa posted the target of 281 runs in 43 overs, Faf du Plessis was the highest scorer for South Africa scoring 82 runs in 107 deliveries. Corey Anderson picked 3 wickets for the New Zealand.
The DLS method came into play and the target for New Zealand was revised to 298 runs. New Zealand chased the target in 42.5 overs with 1 ball remaining. Grant Elliott was the Player of the match and highest scorer for New Zealand scoring 84 runs in 73 deliveries.
2023 South Africa vs Australia
Australia and South Africa are yet again head-to-head in the Semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup. The match was played on Nov 16, 2023, at Eden Gardens stadium, South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first in the semifinals.
South Africa got bundled up for just 212 runs in 49.4 overs. David Miller stood tall for South Africa in the match and scored 101 runs in 116 balls. Mitchell Starc and Skipper Pat Cummins bagged 3 wickets respectively for the side.
Australia in the run chase chased the target in 47.2 overs, Travis Heas was the highest run scorer for the Aussies in the match, scoring 62 runs in 48 deliveries. Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi bagged 2 wickets each for the side.
South Africa registered 5th semi-final loss of the ODI World Cup and 3rd loss against Australia in the semifinals.
The above records of South Africa show the consistency of the South African team in the ODI World Cup as they made it to the semi-finals five times out of nine times but they always choked at the end and lost all the matches.
2 T20 World Cup Semi-final Losses
South Africa also suffered 2 semi-final losses in the T20 World Cup in 2009 and 2014.
2009 South Africa vs Pakistan
South Africa made it into the semis of the T20 World Cup in its second edition. Pakistan and South Africa locked horns on June 18, 2009, at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first, Batting first Pakistan posted a total of 149 runs losing 4 wickets. Shahid Afridi was the highest run-getter for Pakistan in the match, scoring 51 runs in 34 deliveries.
Dale Steyn, Wayne Parnell, Roelof Van der Merwe, and Jean-paul Duminy picked up 1 wicket each respectively for the side.
South Africa in the runchase needed 150 runs in 120 deliveries but fell short of 7 runs and Pakistan qualified for the final.
2014 South Africa vs India
South Africa again qualified for the Semi-final of the 2014 T20 World Cup and faced India in the semi-final on April 4, 2014, at Sher-e-Bangla stadium.
SA won the toss and decided to bat first and scored 172 runs losing 4 wickets in 20 overs. Faf du Plessis scored the highest run i.e. 58 runs in 41 deliveries for the SA side. Ravichandran Ashwin picked up 3 wickets for India.
India in the run chase managed to chase down the target in 19.1 overs with 5 balls remaining. Virat Kohli was the highest run scorer and Player of the Match against South Africa.
India won the match by 6 wickets while South Africa suffered another heartbreaking exit from the Semi-finals of the ICC tournament.
2024 T20 World Cup 2024 South Africa vs Afghanistan
South Africa finally broke the long streak of 7 Semi-final losses in 2024 against Afghanistan and entered the finals of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 for the first time in history.
The match was played on June 27, 2024, at Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first which backfired on them as they got bundled up for just 56 runs in the 12th overs registering their lowest-ever T20 totals.
South Africa in the run chase chased down the target in just 8.5 overs. Marco Jansen was the Player of the Match for his 3/16 in 4 overs.
South Africa is undefeated in the tournament with 8 wins in 8 matches. What’s your opinion can they win their maiden T20 World Cup Trophy or will choke again? Comments below…