South Africa's head coach, Mark Boucher, admitted that their decisive loss to the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 match was one of the worst in their World Cup history. South Africa, who required a win to go to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, were defeated by the Netherlands by a margin of 13 runs on Sunday, November 6.
Few expected South Africa to exit the T20 World Cup 2022 after defeating India in their Super 12 Group 2 match. The Proteas were in pole position to advance from Group 2 since they had never lost against the Netherlands in T20Is before.
South Africa conceded 158 runs in their 20-over quota as world-class pacers Kagiso Rabaa and Anrich Nortje failed to strike with the new ball. South Africa leaked plenty of runs in the final overs, while the Netherlands' Tom Cooper and Colin Ackermann tore into the Proteas attack, scoring 31 runs in the final two overs.
South Africa got off to a shaky start after losing explosive opener Quinton de Kock early in the game. Temba Bavuma's team were never really in the hunt in their 159-run chase, as wickets fell at regular intervals. Under pressure, big names like Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Rilee Rossouw, and David Miller faltered. South Africa concluded with 145 for 8 in 20 overs, with their dressing room looking depressed even as the Dutch players began to celebrate.
"As a coach yes. I think it’s quite frustrating because as a player, you can at least have a say in the game. But as a coach, you leave it up to other individuals to go and perform. So, certainly, as a coach, it’s up there (worst of all of them)," Mark Boucher told the press in Adelaide on Sunday.
"Each one is an individual event. I know there is a lot of history with South Africa in World Cup events. But the last World Cup, I thought we played very good cricket. We lost one game and we were knocked out.
"In this World Cup, we would have taken the scenario where we needed to beat the Netherlands to qualify at the start of the tournament. But yeah, these things happen. It’s not the only upset that has happened in this T20 World Cup. Some very good sides have been beaten by the lesser sides. It makes for exciting cricket," Boucher said.
Pakistan and India have qulified for the semi-finals from Super 12 Group 2.
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