South Africa’s Semi-Final Curse Strikes Again in the Champions Trophy 2025
3 min read
South Africa’s nightmares continue in the ICC knockout matches. Once again, the Proteas fell short against New Zealand, this time by a huge margin of 50 runs in the semifinals of the Champions Trophy 2025 in Lahore on Wednesday. This added up to the history book of South Africa as yet another chapter of failure to clear the semi-final hurdle in major ODI tournaments.
This latest defeat means that South Africa has now lost a total of five Champions Trophy semi-finals in the years 2000, 2002, 2006, 2013, and 2025. This will add more pain to their already painful record in ODI World Cups in which they have fallen in the semis in 1992, 2007, 2015, and 2023. And, of course, we can’t forget that there is the unforgettable 1999 World Cup semi-final tie against Australia, which is considered as one of the most dramatic moments in cricket history.
A Similar Tale of Heartbreak
All stories of South Africa in ICC tournaments follow a similar script each time. Initially, they dominate the game in the group stage matches and, therefore, they look like a really serious side for the title, but later, just when the victory seems to be within reach, something goes horribly wrong with them.
For example, take the 1999 World Cup. They needed to chase 214 runs against Australia in the semi-final match. At the last stage, they needed just one run from four balls to move to the finals. It looked very easy, right, but what happened next was nothing less than a disaster. Lance Khusener and Allan Donald got mixed up while running the final run, and that led to a run-out and an end to South Africa’s innings, which made this won match a tie. After this, Australia advanced to the final because of their higher net run rate due to their superior performance in earlier rounds.
2015 ODI World Cup, where, again, South Africa faced New Zealand in a nail-biting semi-final match. In this match, Grant Elliot played the innings of his life by smashing an unbeaten 84 runs innings in just 73 balls. The Kiwis sealed their victory on the second last ball, in which Dale Steyn struck a six to win the match. Once again, the Proteas were left heartbroken by this defeat.
Adding to this list is the most recent 2023 World Cup. Here, South Africa entered the semi-finals in red-hot form. But once again, they crumbled against the Australian side under pressure in overcast conditions in Kolkata. They scored a total of 212 runs only that too after the fighting century of David Miller. Australia chased the target down with three wickets in hand, which again sent South Africa back to their land without the title.
The ‘Chokers’ Tag Still Haunts the Proteas
It’s no secret to anyone that South Africa has always struggled to shed the dreaded “chokers” tag. In a total of 11 ICC ODI tournament semi-finals, they have won just one match (the 1998 Champions Trophy victory over Sri Lanka. The numbers speak for themselves here.
This is not just about the Semifinals. Even when they managed to pass through the semis, the heartbreak continued to follow. We don’t have to look much back, just in the last year, in the 2024 T20 World Cup final they started aggressively to close, but at the last moments, India snatched the trophy from their grasp.
At this point in time, all the South African fans are wondering if this curse will ever be broken. They have the right talent to do so, and the hunger is so evident in their performance, but when it comes to knockout matches, all their hard work tends to desert them. Let’s hope that the next ICC event could finally bring an end to this ever-increasing painful cycle to the South Africans.
For now, though, it’s another case of “so close, yet so far” for the South African team and the fans.
