Needing to win to reach the semi-finals, the South Africans conceded a competitive 158 for four after winning the toss and opting to bowl first. The response was a difficult one, in which they lost wickets regularly to eventually end on 145 for eight. That left them well short as the Dutch secured their first-ever win against the Proteas in any format of the game, along with the biggest shock of the World Cup.

It was a forgettable performance for Temba Bavuma and his side in a match that was described as a quarterfinal 24 hours earlier by all-rounder Wayne Parnell. That meant there was no room for error as the South Africans knew that only victory would secure them a ticket into the last four of the competition.

Bavuma and Quinton de Kock were slow out of the blocks, returning run-a-ball efforts of 20 and 13 respectively as the South Africans stumbled to 39 for two at the end of the powerplay. Rilee Rossouw (25) was more aggressive alongside Markram (17), but both departed before the 100 was raised, adding pressure on the middle and lower order.

Possibly the turning point of the match was early in the 16th over when Roelof van der Merwe claimed a stunning catch to dismiss David Miller for 17. The former Protea, who played for South Africa at the T20 World Cups in 2009 and 2010, sprinted back from short fine leg to square leg, all the time looking upwards at the ball, before throwing himself low to take the catch centimetres above the ground.

At that stage, 47 were required off 29 balls, but that strike proved key for the Dutch. The chase then faded badly from there as scoreboard pressure told and South Africa limped to a forgettable 145 for eight in what was Mark Boucher’s final match as coach.