However hard they try, South Africa cannot seem to escape the 'C word'. A spate of narrow defeats at World Cups had led to the Proteas receiving the uncharitable label of 'chokers'. Saturday (June 29)'s loss to India in Barbados will only serve to reinforce the label, unfortunately. (IND Vs SA Final Highlights | Full T20 WC Coverage)
After 32 "jinxed" years of missing out one way or the other, the South African cricket team breached the semi-final barrier for the first time and stormed into the title clash of ICC T20 World Cup 2024. They began the game in right earnest, and were zoning in on a historic triumph.
Until yet another implosion ensued. The equation was pretty favourable: 27 runs needed off 28 balls, six wickets in hand; a rampaging Heinrich Klaasen at the crease alongside the dangerous David Miller.
But it was still not to be. Jasprit Bumrah exerted pressure in the 16th over, Hardik Pandya disposed of Klaasen in the 17th, and Bumrah returned to castle Marco Jansen in the 18th.
The all-too-familiar nerves had struck. The required rate ballooned from six to 16, Miller fell prey to Suryakumar Yadav's fielding brilliance and the match swung entirely India's way in the space of three overs.
The great World Cup dream was crushed again. Only this time, the trophy was within touching distance, and losing a match most felt they ought to have won stung harder.
The post-match scene could not have been a greater study in contrast. The jubilant Indian team gamboled in Kensington Oval, with the usually-staid Rahul Dravid too erupting with animated fist pumps. The distraught Proteas sat disconsolate on the ground, trying to let the result sink in. The pictures spoke countless words.
Captain Aiden Markram took a stab at articulating what him and his teammates were feeling, after the match. "It's just gut wrenching, that's really what it is. Each player has been on a different individual journey to get to this first final. Ultimately you become really tight as a group and you want good things to happen to this group because you know, they're great people," Markram said at the post-match press conference.
"...when you get really close like that, especially the nature of how the game went, obviously adds to the emotions and it's one of those things but yeah, we can channel it moving forward but I think next couple of days you let it be.
"...you let yourself feel the way you want to feel and then really start reflecting in a positive manner," he added.
Even amid the heartbreak, Markram was objective enough to acknowledge that the match was as much wrested by India in the later stages, as South Africa let it slip.
"It's not the first game of cricket that's been lost with a team needing 30 of 30 – it's more that India was allowed to bowl well, they're allowed to field well, they're allowed to go from that position to a position of strength," he put forth.
India emerged victors on Saturday, but they would know exactly how Markram and Co feel. They had progressed to the knockout rounds of five of their previous six World Cups, but not won any of them.
Despite the T20 title, the scars of the 2023 ODI World Cup would perhaps have not healed yet. Rohit Sharma's team had produced near-invincible cricket to stay unbeaten in run-up to the final, before succumbing to Australia in Ahmedabad.
RSA were similarly undefeated going into the T20 World Cup final, but the result was another reminder of how cruel sport can be sometimes.
Spare a thought for Klaasen, who came up with a game-changing knock of 52 runs off 27 balls. How will he make peace with what transpired after his dismissal?
"We've seen him (Klaasen) do it many, many times around the world and to deliver it in a stage like this is a really special effort. So, it's going to be tough for him, that's what I say when I mean we reflect back," Markram philosophized.
All said and done, the loss would only serve to make the Proteas hungrier for more. Having reached the doorstep this time, the team would leave no stone unturned to end the prolonging wait.
As Markram put it: "Just for the time being, it stings a bit, but it's good for it to sting. It gives you that little bit of fire in the belly for next time that you're here."
