Proteas’ T20 World Cup campaign: Four key takeaways

2026-03-05 - 11:03

The Proteas have again failed to go all the way at a global white-ball tournament after looking good to break their curse. After going unbeaten in the group stages as well as in the Super Eights phase of the T20 World Cup, for a seven-from-seven record, they crashed out in stunning fashion in Kolkata on Wednesday in the semi-finals stage. After a stuttering batting effort saw them post 169/8 in their 20 overs, New Zealand raced to their target with just one wicket down and more than seven overs remaining. Here are the key takeaways from the Proteas’ T20 World Cup campaign. Batting excellence For the most part during the campaign, South Africa’s batting was top-notch. Aiden Markram finished with 286 runs in eight innings at 48 and strike rate of 165. Ryan Rickelton made 228 runs in his eight knocks at 33 and strike rate of 170, while Dewald Brevis made 207 runs from seven innings at 30 and strike rate of 147. Quinton de Kock (181 runs in eight knocks) wasn’t as prolific as we hoped he’d be, while David Miller (174 runs in six knocks), with an average of 58 and strike rate of 155, was as solid as ever in major tournaments. Tristan Stubbs made 135 runs in six innings at 68 and strike rate of 135, and showed he is best at number six. Ngidi and Bosch shine South Africa’s bowling attack did well, for the most part. Their plans were good and their execution was solid ... until, like the batting department, it mattered in the semi-finals, and they fell apart. Lungi Ngidi (12 wickets from seven games), Corbin Bosch (11 wickets from seven games) and Marco Jansen (11 wickets from six games) were impressive in the group and Super Eight stages. Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj only picked up five wickets each in seven and six games respectively which was a disappointing return. One can now ask, in hindsight, if the Proteas had enough bowlers with enough skills to be successful on Indian wickets? Did they miss a trick by not having SA20 star Ottniel Baartman in the mix? Ngidi’s economy rate of 7.19 was good, as was Bosch’s at 7.64. Semi-final capitulation Sadly, all the good work done by the team and backup staff during the tournament was undone by the poor performance in the semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday. Batting first, De Kock and Rickelton went cheaply, Markram looked good before holding out in the deep, and Miller came and went; all out with poor shots. Brevis tried hard and did well for his 34 off 27 but he was also undone by a bad shot. Stubbs played cautiously for his 29 off 24 and Jansen smacked 55 not out off 30. But, being 12/2, 55/3 and 77/5 was not good enough from such a potent and in-form batting lineup. The bowlers also took a beating – Jansen conceding 53 runs in 2.5 overs, Bosch 35 in two overs and Maharaj 33 in three. Ngidi went for 22 in two and Rabada 28 in three – as coach Shukri Conrad said, the worst time to have an off day. Tournament choke The coach said he didn’t believe his team choked in the game, and he is dead right about that. “I think in order for you to choke, you must have had a sniff in the game. We didn’t have a sniff. In South Africa, we would say we got moered. Tonight, we got a proper snot klap,” said Conrad. He’s spot on. But, the Proteas choked in the tournament, if not the game. Markram and his men played so well, including recording wins against New Zealand, Afghanistan, India and the West Indies, that before the semi-finals they had in fact been elevated to tournament favourites, ahead of hosts India, and rightly so. That’s how well they were playing. But then they folded again, when it mattered. In the 2011 and 2015 ODI World Cups, the Proteas were also beaten by New Zealand at the semi-finals stage.