Cricket World Cup History: 5 times South Africa choked at the World Cup

One of the unluckiest teams in the history of the World Cup, South Africa will enter the World Cup 2019 with purpose, in a bid to clinch their first ever title win. Ever since making an ODI debut after re-admission in 1991, South Africa has produced some world class players and has gone into most World Cups as a pre-tournament favorite with an imposing team on paper.

However, even after four semi-final appearances, South Africa has not been able to lift the trophy, failing to make it to the finals even on a single occasion. The team just seems to lose plot under pressure and combined with some bad luck, this has led to many heart-breaking moments for the fans that have labeled the South African team with the 'chokers' tag.

As yet another World Cup beckons, here are five famous occasions when South Africa choked, leaving their hopes of winning a World Cup all in a distant future.

#5 1992 World Cup semifinal (vs England)

The final moment that left a lasting impression

In the 1992 World Cup, South Africa faced off against England in the second semifinal and put into bat by South African captain Kepler Wessels, England scored 252/6 in 45 overs.

The chase was on track for South Africa until it came to a stage when they needed 22 to win off 13 balls, with batsmen Brian McMillan and Dave Richardson at the crease. That is when the rain gods intervened and the umpires decided to stop play.

What transpired after the rain break is among the most ridiculous incidents in the history of the game. According to the prevalent rain rule, the reduction in target was supposed to be proportionate to the lowest scoring overs of the side batting first. This meant that when play resumed, two overs had been deducted from the chase and yet the required runs came down by just a solitary run.

This led to South Africa needing an impossible 21 to win off 1 ball. There was confusion and anger among the fans as the scorecard incorrectly displayed 22 off 7 balls and was quickly changed to 22 off 1 ball, and finally 21 off 1 ball. In the end, Brian McMillan just took a single off the last ball and walked off furiously to the pavilion.

This was only the beginning of South Africa's horrors in World Cup knockout matches.

Also read - World cup ties

#2 1999 World Cup semifinal (vs Australia)

Australian players celebrate their surprise win

The second semi-final of the 1999 edition of the World Cup is regarded as one of the greatest ODI matches played in the history of the sport.

Batting first, Australia put on a competitive score of 213 led by half-centuries from skipper Steve Waugh and Michael Bevan. South Africa began their chase well with Gary Kirsten and Herschell Gibbs putting on 48 for the first wicket before Shane Warne removed the openers and skipper Hansie Cronje within two overs.

Notwithstanding a half-century from Jacques Kallis and a handy 43 from Jhonty Rhodes, the game went down to the wire with South Africa needing 9 runs off the final over with Lance Klusener, who was enjoying a purple patch right through the tournament and last man in Allan Donald in the middle.

Klusener smashed the first two balls by Damien Fleming through the off side for consecutive boundaries, bringing the equation down to 1 off 4 balls. Surely, nothing could go wrong for South Africa now, or so they thought.

After a missed run out chance off the next ball, Klusener hit the fourth ball to mid-off and took off for a single. Donald, at the other end, was ball watching and both batsmen were left stranded at the non striker's end. Just as Donald began charging to the striker's end, Gilchrist dislodged the bails, triggering wild scenes in the Australian camp.

While the match did end in a tie, Australia went through to the final on account of a superior net run rate when compared to South Africa from the super six stage, ending South Africa's hopes yet again.

#3 2003 World Cup group stage match (vs Sri Lanka)

The rain came in the form of an antagonist for South Africa

South Africa tasted perhaps their most embarrassing exit from the World Cup in 2003, an exit that was marked by their failure on home soil. They needed a win in their last league game against Sri Lanka to qualify for the super sixes. Chasing 269, South Africa went about their chase matching their scores with the Duckworth-Lewis targets with a storm around the corner.

With the rain building, it was only a matter of time before play was due to be interrupted. South Africa were at 223/6 from 44.4 overs, and the D/L par score at the end of 45 overs was 229.

Mark Boucher lofted Muralitharan for a six off the next delivery and pumped his fists, with the target under control. At the end of the 45th over, the rains came in and the covers came on, with the match abandoned post the break.

Unfortunately for South Africa, a lack of communication led to South Africa's exit. A single off the last ball would have been enough but they had miscalculated the target as Boucher played out a dot. They needed just a solitary run to get across the line but in the end, the tie knocked them out of the tournament.

#2 2011 World Cup quarterfinal (vs New Zealand)

The Graeme Smith-led South African team had finished on top of Group B at the end of the league phase of the 2011 edition, having won five out of the six group stage matches. In the quarterfinals, they were set to face off against New Zealand.

After restricting New Zealand to 221 courtesy of a fine display of bowling from Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn, South Africa found themselves in a comfortable position at 108/2 after 24 overs with two set batsmen in Kallis and AB De Villiers at the crease.

Kallis was dismissed by Southee and was followed by JP Duminy. The same over, a horrible mix-up between Faf Du Plessis and AB de Villiers, led to the latter being run-out in a disastrous fashion.

The Kiwi spinners then continued to strangle the batsmen, and South Africa lost their last eight wickets for just 64 runs as they were bundled out for just 172. Cruising at one stage of the run chase, the Proteas ended up losing by a significant margin.

#1 2015 World Cup semifinal (vs New Zealand)

The South African team had a shock exit from the 2015 World Cup

South Africa skipper AB de Villiers won the toss and opted to bat first on a good track and with the skipper stitching an important 103-run partnership with Faf du Plessis, they looked for a big finish with the likes of Miller and Duminy yet to come. However, rain stopped play briefly and some pyrotechnics from David Miller took South Africa to 281/5 from 43 overs.

Set a revised target of 298, New Zealand began their chase with Brendon McCullum going all guns blazing at the start. Towards the end, a crucial partnership between Grant Elliot and Corey Anderson meant that the match was always hanging in the balance even though the target appeared steep. In the 32nd over, AB de Villiers failed to collect the ball cleanly and missed a simple run out chance of Corey Anderson. This was a key moment in the game.

Further lapses in the field, with De Kock missing a run out opportunity and Behardien dropping Elliot, hurt South Africa even further as they crashed out of the World Cup.

It finally came down to 5 runs required off 2 balls. Elliot hit Dale Steyn into the grandstand, winning a truly remarkable game of cricket for his side. The South African players were all seen emotional on the field. They had once again managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Will South Africa be able to break the World Cup jinx in 2019? We'll have to wait to find out.