The Proteas were stunned by Netherlands in the early hours of Sunday morning to go crashing out of the T20 World Cup.
The shock 13-run victory for the Dutch side also put India in the semi-finals.
The South African cricket team were chasing a run total of 159 but stumbled to only gather 145 runs.
Proteas captain Temba Bavuma said the loss was difficult to take.
“Hard one to swallow. We had the confidence and belief in ourselves as a unit to make the play-offs,” he said post-match.
“Unfortunately for us, we couldn’t do it. Winning the toss and bowling, what they got wasn’t ideal. We lost wickets at crucial times. They used the dimensions of the field a lot better than we did.”
South Africa did not get off to the best of starts with both opening batsmen Bavuma and Quinton de Kock out inside of six overs, only managing 39 runs between them.
The Dutch side will have bowler Brandon Glover to thank who took three wickets and conceded only nine runs when he had the ball in hand.
Netherlands captain Scott Edwards said the victory will go down as one of the biggest shocks in cricket history.
“Lost for words. It’s definitely up there, another big upset for Netherlands in a World Cup,” he said.
“Feels fantastic, we really deserved this victory. Boys worked really hard. Come in, and take it deep, and the boundaries flowed at the end.”
Bangladesh will face Pakistan on Sunday to decide who makes it into the final four of the competition.
India, who are already through, will face Zimbabwe in their final group stage fixture with the result deciding who will face who in the final four.
Compiled by Dylan Bettencourt
Image source: @ProteasMenCSA
