Big Game Blues of RSA - The Chokers of the game.

As the World Twenty20 Tournament is all set to commence tomorrow in England, with almost everyone betting their money on the pre-tournament favourites South African or the Indian teams to bring home the cup, this post might enable the Indian supporters to heave a huge sigh of relief.

The South African Cricket Team was suspended by the International Cricket Council for the government's apartheid policy in the year 1970, as it could field only white players and play against the white nations, which was completely against the policy of the world-governing body of the game. The ICC reinstated South Africa as a Test nation in 1991 after the deconstruction of apartheid, and the team played its first sanctioned match since 1970 (and its first ever One-Day International) against India in Calcutta on 10 November 1991.

They might be the world no.1 team in ODIs and no.2 in Test Cricket at present, and perhaps the second most consistent side in world for about two decades now next only to the Aussies, but when it has mattered the most, they have invariably faltered. This shows up in the only major ICC trophy in their kitty, the ICC Champions Trophy in the year 1998. They've reached the semifinals of the ICC ODI World Cup thrice in the five they've played since they were reinstated,  but have not reached the finals even once.

It all Began Here

It was only three months since they were drafted back as a member of the ICC, and what a dream debut they had at the World Cup!! They made the semifinals and set up their clash with the other choker-team in the game, England. It was the 22nd of March in the year 1992 at the SCG, and England made 252 in their 45 overs. South Africa stood a good chance, when they needed 22 to win off 13 deliveries, when there was a downpour. When play resumed, it was the same 22 to get off 7. Once again, rain started as if the rain god didn't want to provide the South Africans even a theoretical chance of making it to the final. When play at last resumed, by the rain rule, they needed 22 to get off one final delivery. It was a heartbreak for the South African supporters as they witnessed their team being knocked out due to a stupid rule.

The WC'99 Episode:

The South Africans are those who looked almost invincible as they topped their group and made it to the Super Six stage. They won almost all the games they played. But one ill-fated game changed it all. It was the Australia vs South Africa game in the Super Sixes, and Herschelle Gibbs dropped an easy catch of Steve Waugh, the then Aussie skipper who made a century in that game to win it. He was famously reported to have told Gibbs then, "You've just dropped the World cup,mate!" Then, as it turned out to be, a repeat match occured as the semifinals between the two teams. When 'Zulu' Klusener was romping home, a moment of madness from Allan Donald resulted in the match ending in a tie, and the Aussies made it to the final on the basis of the net run rate, and eventually won the trophy. 

The WC'03 Episode:

South Africa, in its cricketing history, got to host its first major cricket tournament in the year 2003. The ICC World Cup came to their own country, and for the umpteenth time, they were billed the favourites to win the tournament. But they were in for a shock, as they lost their opening game to the Caribbeans. But, they had a chance of crossing over to the second round had they won their rain-affected game against the Lankans. Pollock, in another moment of madness, made a mess of the calculations, as he instructed Mark Boucher to play out the last delivery and not lose a wicket. But, he was wrong as they needed one more run to win that game and make it to the next round and that infamous tied match pushed RSA out of the tournament. Pollock relinquished his captaincy as a result of that foolishness, and Graeme Smith took over the mantle.

So, all the Indian fans out there!!! Hope that the Proteas under Smith are there for an encore of any of these significant moments, this time around! :-)