South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma said the ouster from the T20 World Cup was “hard one to swallow” as the Proteas choked in yet another ICC tournament here on Sunday.

South Africa were stunned by the Netherlands by 13 runs in their Super 12 finale to get eliminated from the group stage of the T20 showpiece.

The Dutch dished out a collective batting effort to post a decent 158/4 after being invited to bat and then restricted the Proteas to 145/8 for their biggest victory in world cricket.

“Hard one to swallow. We had the confidence and belief in ourselves as a unit to make the play-offs,” a disappointed Bavuma said at the post-match presentation.

Boasting a fiery pace attack, South Africa just needed to beat minnows Netherlands to make the cut. But they failed miserably.

“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,” he added.

South Africa have got the ‘chokers’ tag’ not by mere coincidence. Always the pre-tournament favourites, South Africa are yet to reach the final of a World Cup event.

They have lost at semi-final stage at the T20 World Cup twice — 2009 and 2014. In the ODI World Cup, they have lost out in the last-four on four occasions — 1992, 1999, 2007 and 2015.

The Netherlands skipper Scot Edwards was at “loss for words” after securing their first-ever win against South Africa in any format. The Dutch finished fourth in their group, and thus ensured automatic qualification for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Brief scores: The Netherlands 158/4 in 20 overs (Colin Ackermann 41 n.o.). South Africa 145/8 in 20 overs (Brandon Glover 3/9). The Netherlands won by 13 runs.

Written with PTI inputs