ICC World Cup 2019: South Africa’s fateful journey in the history of the tournament
Of the 54 matches they have played in WC so far, South Africa have won 35, lost 17 and tied two.
World Cup 2011; lost to New Zealand in quarter-finals
Under Smith again, SA were back to their vintage consistency in this edition. They started by drubbing the Windies by 7 wickets and the Netherlands by 231 runs but then suffered a shocking six-run defeat against England. Thereafter, the Proteas beat the hosts India (3 wickets), Ireland (131 runs) and Bangladesh (206 runs) to end up as the champions of Group B. But then, it was a repeat of the 1996 WC as SA tumbled in the quarter-finals and this time, it was Jacob Oram who cut their stay in the WC short by taking 4 wickets for 39 runs.
World Cup 2015; lost to New Zealand in semi-finals
SA looked to rewrite history afresh Down Under after their 1992 tragedy and they were captained by AB de Villiers this time. South Africa had to earn their win over Zimbabwe in the first match (by 62 runs) but were thrashed by India by 130 runs in their second game. De Villiers made every ball he faced in the next match against the Windies count by belting 162 not out in just 66 balls to help his team register a 257-run win.
They had another 400-plus total in the next match against Ireland and won by 201 runs but lost next to Pakistan by 29 runs in a curtailed game. De Villiers came up with a 99 in the next encounter against the UAE which the Proteas won by 146 runs and ended up as the group runners after India. In the quarter-finals, South Africa bulldozed Sri Lanka by 9 wickets to make their fourth semi-final at the World Cup.
The Proteas were up against the Kiwis who were unbeaten till that point and even after setting the opponents a challenging target of 298 in 43 overs, De Villiers’ men could not win over their nerves as Grant Elliott’s 73-ball 84 guided NZ to win with one ball to spare. It was the Kiwis’ maiden WC final but not SA’s. The teary-eyed Proteas players on the day made it yet another tragic occasion for the ‘chokers’.
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