"Men or women, it's their destiny"- Fans react as South Africa 'choke' at an ICC event once again by losing 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal

South Africa have done it again. The Proteas made it to the knockout stage of an ICC event and returned home without winning the trophy. This time, the rainbow nation suffered a defeat in the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal against New Zealand.

This defeat marked the fourth time in the last two years that the Proteas have lost in the semifinal or final of an ICC event. They lost to Australia in the 2023 ODI World Cup semifinal, followed by a defeat in the 2024 T20 World Cup Final against India. They also suffered a loss in the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup Final against New Zealand, and now a defeat in the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal versus New Zealand as well.

Reacting to the rainbow nation's recent performances in ICC events, a fan shared a funny meme and wrote on X:

"Men or women. It's their destiny. When's the time for Africa?"

Another X user trolled the South African side by using a clip from the popular Indian show 'CID'. It highlighted how the Proteas do not achieve success at ICC events.

Another cricket fan mentioned how New Zealand always find a way to defeat the Proteas in the knockout stage of ICC events. The fan wrote:

"New Zealand has 100 problems but bashing SA in ICC knockouts isn't one of them."

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"South Africa has been the most unfortunate team in the world"- Fans on Proteas' dubious record in ICC knockouts

As mentioned ahead, the Proteas have played exceptional cricket in the group stages to make it to knockouts of ICC tournaments in the recent past. However, they have never returned home with a trophy. A fan on X wrote:

"Last one year South Africa has been the most unfortunate team in the world, having lost all the finals or semi-finals, be it men or women."

Lastly, a fan felt bad for David Miller, who scored a century in the Champions Trophy semifinal against New Zealand, but still the Proteas lost the match.

"Very happy for David Miller. He is a unlucky that he is a South African. Could have easily touched a couple of trophies if he were an Australian. Back to back hundreds in ICC knockouts . What a player. Might be his last ODI for South Africa," a fan tweeted.

The Proteas scored 312/9 while chasing a 363-run target against New Zealand in the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal. With this loss, the Proteas have been eliminated, while the Blackcaps will head to Dubai for the final against India on March 9.