Ghosts of knockouts past: Can the Proteas finally overcome New Zealand in T20 World Cup semi?
ICC T20 WORLD CUP
New Zealand's Grant Elliott (R) celebrates his team's win as Proteas bowler Dale Steyn (L) stands dejected after the Cricket World Cup semi-final match at Eden Park in Auckland.
Image: AFP
The Proteas will meet New Zealand in the first ICC T20 World Cup semifinal at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday.
The two great southern rivals have yet to meet in an T20 World Cup knockout game but have enjoyed titanic battles in various other ICC tournaments. The Black Caps have though reigned supreme and hold a 100% record against the Proteas in ICC knockout matches — a statistic Aiden Markram’s men will be hoping to change.
Independent Media’s Zaahier Adams takes a look back at the previous meetings.
ICC Cricket World Cup quarterfinal 2011, Dhaka
New Zealand: 221/8, South Africa: 172 all out | New Zealand won by 49 runs
The Proteas headed into the quarterfinal as the overwhelming favourites, having played a fantastic brand of 50-overs cricket up until this point.
They were innovative in adapting to the subcontinent conditions by utilising as much as three spinners at any given time and the batters were in form. But the fateful night in Dhaka will be remembered for all the wrong reasons after Faf du Plessis ran out his good friend AB de Villiers at a critical point in the run chase.
A fracas broke out in the middle after New Zealand’s 12th man Kyle Mills, who was bringing on water for his teammates, started sledging Du Plessis. The Kiwis had managed to get under the skins of the Proteas and all focus was lost as Graeme Smith’s men meekly surrendered.
New Zealand's Scott Styris (R) exchanges words with Proteas batters Faf du Plessis (C) and AB de Villiers (2L) during the quarter-final match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.
Image: AFP
Cricket World Cup semi-final 2015, Eden Park, Auckland
South Africa: 281/5, New Zealand: 299/6 | New Zealand won by four wickets with one ball remaining on D/L method
Four years later, the Black Caps had completely transformed their image from being the bad boys of world cricket to nicest team playing the game.
Swashbuckling captain Brendon McCullum was at the forefront of this change, bashing runs upfront with a smile on his face. McCullum took the entire New Zealand with him on the journey as the tiny rugby-loving island embraced cricket like never before.
It set up an epic semi-final at the home of All Blacks rugby with a fervent capacity crowd fully behind the home team. The Proteas had endured a stop-start campaign leading into semi-finals with defeats against both India and Pakistan but had secured a first-ever World Cup knockout victory after thrashing Sri Lanka in their Sydney quarterfinal.
After a wobbly start against the seaming ball, the Proteas settled in through Du Plessis and Rilee Rossouw before captain AB de Villiers and David Miller launched their pyrotechnics show. Unfortunately for the Proteas, their innings was curtailed by rain, causing Duckworth-Lewis to reset New Zealand’s target to 298 in 43 overs.
McCullum led the Black Caps reply with an audacious assault on the Proteas’ premier fast bowler Dale Steyn in the opening powerplay. But after McCullum’s dismissal, the Proteas gradually took control through the brilliant Imran Tahir and Morne Morkel.
New Zealand, though, were not going away through initially Corey Anderson and then the South African-born Grant Elliot.
The Proteas nerves were starting to show with De Villiers missing a crucial run out and JP Duminy and Farhaan Behardien colliding in the outfield to drop a crucial catch in the penultimate over. The tension around Eden Park was immense when Dale Steyn stood at the top of his mark to defend 12 runs in the final over in a bid to send the Proteas to their first-ever World Cup final.
Daniel Vettori squeaked out a boundary second ball before returning the strike to Elliot. The former St Stithians pupil proceeded to break the hearts of his birth country but sent his adopted nation into a state of delirium when he smashed Steyn back over his head for six.
The Proteas could not hold back the tears that they had come so close, while Steyn collapsed in a heap in the middle of the pitch. The enduring image of the 2015 World Cup is Elliot going across to Steyn to console the great fast bowler. The match has been ranked among the top three ODIs of all time.
Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra both struck sublime centuries for New Zealand against the Proteas in the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final in Lahore.
Image: AFP
Champions Trophy semi-final 2015, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
New Zealand: 362/6, South Africa: 312/9 | New Zealand won by 50 runs
The Kiwis had long shed their tag as over-achievers and had in fact developed a perennial presence at the business end of major ICC tournaments by now.
They showed that experience by carving out a mammoth 362/6 through twin centuries from Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson before limiting the Proteas to 312 - despite a brilliant century from David Miller and half-centuries from captain Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen.