Familiar Story As Proteas Get Walloped And Fail Again At Semifinal Hurdle  

South Africa exited the T20 World Cup with a whimper, their shoulders slumped and with no fight to speak of as they left the tournament defeated by New Zealand’s Black Caps by nine wickets with a staggering 79-balls remaining at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

The New Zealand bowlers turned the screws on the Proteas batting lineup with the ball – and Finn Allen scored a gung-ho century in just 33 balls – as South Africa had to live through the misery of yet another semi-final defeat at an ICC tournament.

The 2024 finalists, who lost by seven runs against India, were unbeaten and came into the game as favourites following convincing victories throughout the tournament against New Zealand in the group stage, India, and the West Indies. 

This was different, though, as it carried the pressure and burden of a World Cup semifinal knockout game, something the Proteas were unable to overcome. 

Mitchell Santner won the toss and opted to bowl first, and the Black Caps captain would’ve felt justified with the early dismissals of Quinton de Kock and the in-form Ryan Rickelton. 

Such is the Proteas batting line-up, though, that they hold batters with great skill and aggression deep down, and that was the case when Marco Jansen rescued the Proteas innings with a belligerent score of 55 not out off 30 balls – hitting as many sixes as the rest of the team combined.

His partnership of 73 off 48 deliveries with Tristan Stubbs – a T20I record for South Africa for the sixth wicket – got South Africa to a respectable score.

Dewald Brevis chipped in with 27-ball thirty-four, before falling to the expensive Jimmy Neesham. 

In response, the Black Caps offered the Proteas zero chance to settle with the ball, scoring a monstrous 84 runs in the powerplay as Tim Seifert and Finn Allen made light work of the much-lauded South African bowling attack. 

Chances were few and far between for the Proteas, with de Kock chasing a ball over his shoulder as he ran towards fine leg, diving in vain at a catch attempt, when he should have probably left it for the in-running Brevis.

They did get a breakthrough as Kagiso Rabada castled Seifert, but the lack of celebration told the story of a team that knew the game was already long lost.

Allen’s century, off just 33 balls, the fastest ever in a men’s T20 World Cup, justly won him the player of the match award as he assisted in strangling the Proteas into submission. 

The defeat will raise even more serious questions of South Africa’s ability to deal with high-pressure situations in knockout games in white-ball cricket, as once again, their failure spoke volumes.

Not only was the defeat devastating, but the manner of defeat will most likely unlock a new strand of generational trauma that a long-supporting Protea fan is well versed with and has to continue to endure. 

A tournament that promised so much and raised hopes with every game and every victory will cause heartbreak and a measure of anger as the tell-tale story of South African cricket at World Cups plays out to an all too familiar story once again. 

SOUTH AFRICA – 169/8

Marco Jansen 55* (30 balls), Dewald Brevis 34 (27 balls)

Rachin Ravindra 2/29 (4 overs), Matt Henry 2/34 (4 overs)

NEW ZEALAND – 173/1

Finn Allen 100* (33 balls), Tim Seifert 58 (33 balls) 

Kagiso Rabada 1/28 (3 overs)