"Biggest chokers ever seen"- Fans react as the Netherlands knock South Africa out of the T20 World Cup
South Africa and their series of tragic events at the World Cups continued as they suffered a shocking 13-run loss at the hands of the Netherlands at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday. This loss has knocked them out of the ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup, which is a huge blow as they were one of the favorites before the tournament began.
On a slowish pitch, the Proteas opted to bowl first, a baffling decision for quite a few and were set a target of 159 to win the game. Although they seemed to be in the driver's seat halfway through the chase, their old habit of 'choking' in crunch situations came back to haunt them as the Dutch squeezed a historic win.
The win has made fans on Twitter active as Team India have qualified for the T20 World Cup semi-finals. Some fans were shocked about South Africa's exit, while others trolled them for bottling from a situation where they needed just one win from their final two games.
Here are some of the reactions:
South Africa and Choking, better love story than twilight
As always, South Africa imploding.
ICC to South Africa https://t.co/NTMn3g2B61
SA in every world cup https://t.co/BBwpj0mpSF
My disappointment knows no bounds, really don't know what to say.... They had everything this year, they had THE TEAM. It'll take some time to digest this. #SAvNED
Bowling first on a sunny day against a side whose strength is their bowling. Especially in a must win game without any equation in front of them. Not in hindsight, but SA could have comfortably posted a total and let their bowlers loose #T20WorldCup #SAvNED
Even in 2011 ODI world cup South Africa didn't qualified for Semi-final and Pakistan qualified. Oreo magic 😂 https://t.co/Xxvngzhei2
Biggest chokers ever seen in the Game of Cricket https://t.co/KDuCHTa5zs
Saw sa for the 1st time choking today, wtf is this team, really thought bavuma juju could save them 😭😭😭
My World Cup winners are out. Ngl I am shocked. Upset and all is fine but SA were easily among top 4 in my book.
I keep trying to convince people that South Africa's chokers tag is wrong, it is based on a very small sample.
South Africa keep responding by increasing the sample size.
Netherlands have been waiting for two straight World Cups for their middle order to show up. And they finally do in time to kick South Africa out of the tournament. What a moment for them.
South Africa write another chapter in their almost unbelievably tragic World Cup disaster diary.
Even with the one ball match, Klusener run out, NZ panic, DLS tie, Grants knock, this game must be the most twisted and hard to get over.
SA just lost a World Cup to the Dutch.
South Africa have been South Africa as ever, choking again. Just the climax this World Cup needed! India already in Semis and Pakistan in with a golden chance! #SAvsNed #T20WorldCup
Roelof Van Der Merwe the South African born, who has represented South Africa in the past, coming in between South Africa and T20 World Cup Semis. https://t.co/Hv1g4ThH2E
Namibia beat Sri Lanka.
Netherlands beat South Africa.
Zimbabwe beat Pakistan.
Ireland beat England.
No South Africa & Australia in the Semi-final.
Best T20 World Cup ever.
From here, South Africa missed the Semi-final ticket. https://t.co/mrj1tYUBQV
The Netherlands' change of pace caught South Africa off-guard
South Africa didn't get to the best possible start to their chase as they dismissed the dangerous batter Quinton de Kock early. Skipper Temba Bavuma did try to break free, but even he was dismissed by the end of the powerplay.
Riley Rossouw's wicket sent jitters to the Proteas camp as the Dutch sensed a possible inroad. Aiden Markram and David Miller did try to stabilize the innings, but the required run rate kept on increasing and that made them go for the big shots.
Miller's catch from Roelof van der Merwe was probably the final nail in the Proteas' coffin as they just couldn't recover from the blow. The Proteas only have themselves to blame and will certainly look at this as a missed opportunity.