By South Africa’s worst heartbreak at a major cricket tournament was the 1999 Cricket World Cup semi-final against Australia at Edgbaston.
Chasing a modest target of 214, South Africa looked to be cruising at 198/5 with Lance Klusener and Allan Donald at the crease. Needing 9 runs off the final over, Klusener smashed two boundaries off the first two balls to tie the scores. However, a mix-up between Klusener and Donald resulted in Donald being run out, and the match ended in a tie.
Because Australia had defeated the other team in their Super Six match, they advanced to the championship game. Given that South Africa had never advanced to a World Cup final, the run-out that ruined their chances was devastating. For Klusener, who had up until then been the tournament’s top performer, it was especially devastating.
Once more, with feeling: The Proteas DID NOT choke. The fact that they made a game of it is a testament to their ability to not choke in the biggest game of their lives.
— Daniel Gallan (@danielgallan) July 3, 2024
(Definitely not) My final thoughts on the matter for @guardian_sport/@guardian https://t.co/r6IWymoSkZ
Since South Africa was the best team in the competition, had the match within their grasp, and had never been this close to winning the World Cup previously, the 1999 semi-final loss is regarded as their worst tragedy. For more than 20 years, the anguish of that defeat has plagued South African cricket.
The 2022 T20 World Cup saw South Africa lose to the Netherlands, which was a big blow that kept them out of the semi-finals. The following were the pivotal points that led to their defeat:
Close Match: South Africa put on a great show throughout the competition, but they were unable to score a victory in this match.
The Netherlands, who had dropped their opening two games, wanted to improve and were motivated by Afghanistan’s surprising victory over England in the same competition.
T20 World Cup Final
The T20 World Cup has added another chapter to the misery for South Africa fans as they lost at the last hurdle from a clearly winnable position, despite the fact that the team’s semi-final curse has been broken.
Many thought that 2018 may finally be the year for South Africa as they went undefeated throughout the tournament and showed resilience in close matches.
Sadly, though, Aiden Markhram’s team’s reputation for making mistakes in crunch time will only have gotten bigger when they were defeated by seven runs in Barbados.
Captain Aiden Markhram described the situation to media as “just gut wrenching.” “It naturally heightens the emotions when you get that close, especially given the style of the game.
“A team needing 30 of 30 has lost games of cricket before. This one is not an exception.
“In the course of one over, a run-a-ball can escalate to 10 runs each over. Thus, as a batter, your strategy has to adjust. It’s possible that you’re sprinting hard and keeping the ball on the ground till the bowler throws a good over. Things change swiftly to the point where you’d be looking for boundaries the next thing you knew.
“In the course of one over, a run-a-ball can escalate to 10 runs each over. Thus, as a batter, your strategy has to adjust. It’s possible that you’re sprinting hard and keeping the ball on the ground till the bowler throws a good over. Things change swiftly to the point where you’d be looking for boundaries the next thing you knew.
