Going into this match, South Africa were the favourites not only to beat New Zealand but also to end their wait for a maiden T20 World Cup title.
The unbeaten Proteas had topped Group D, the so-called group of death, before brushing aside India and West Indies in the Super 8s to book their spot in the knockout stages with a match to spare.
The tag of favourites was something they were more than happy to wear, head coach Shukri Conrad said on Wednesday, but over the course of 32.5 chastening overs, the memories of Sydney in 1992, Kolkata in 1999, Melbourne in 2015 and Barbados in 2024 came flooding back.
Their top order, which included the third-highest run-scorer in the competition in Markram, faltered for the second consecutive match, undone by spin as had happened against Zimbabwe.
It was Sikandar Raza who accounted for their openers in the powerplay on Sunday.
In Kolkata, Cole McConchie struck with back-to-back deliveries in the second over as De Kock and Rickelton gifted routine catches to Lockie Ferguson and Allen, respectively, while Ravindra accounted for Markram and Miller: South Africa 77-4.
With the ball, tasked with defending a below-par 169, their bowlers were torn apart, none more so than the usually reliable Jansen, who leaked 29 runs from his two powerplay overs.
Of the 12.5 overs New Zealand needed to complete their rapid chase, only three cost fewer than 10 runs.
“To get to 170 was a great effort and we felt we had a sniff. But as it goes in T20 cricket, the powerplay got off to a flyer and it was hard to pull back,” said Markram.
“You give credit to their openers to kill the game like they did. A bad night for us tonight.
“We have to get back on the horse and prepare for the future. It feels like a slap in the face and we need to be better as a team.”
South Africa have now lost three of their four men’s T20 World Cup semi-finals and four out of five knockout matches. In the 50-over tournament, all five of their semi-final outings have ended in defeat.
They might have broken their duck with victory in the World Test Championship final last June, but their reputation as chokers remains.
