Pakistan joined India in the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday after South Africa pulled out of the tournament following a crushing loss to the Netherlands.
Pakistan, who beat Bangladesh by five wickets at Adelaide Oval to qualify, will meet New Zealand in the first semi-final in Sydney on Wednesday. India will face England a day later in Adelaide.
The final day of Group 2 action began with a bang as the plucky Netherlands secured a 13-point victory over shocked Temba Bavuma’s side, breathing new life into Pakistani semi-final hopefuls.
It ended with India finishing top of the group and absorbing the cheers of a crowd of 82,507 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with a 71-run demolition of Zimbabwe.
However, Babar Azam’s Pakistan might celebrate the toughest of Sunday’s winners as the only team to reach the last four with two defeats.
For that, they can thank the Netherlands, an unimportant player in world cricket who had to pass the qualifying stage to reach the Super 12.
Their top four hitters all made runs, with South African-born man of the match Colin Ackermann notching an unbeaten 41 to propel the Netherlands to 158 for four after being batted.
Other former South Africans accelerated the downfall of the Proteas, with Johannesburg-born pacemaker Brandon Glover taking 3-9 in a two-two flurry to slip into the middle order.
Former South African all-rounder Roelof van der Merwe arguably won the tournament to knock out the dangerous David Miller for 17 years, returning with a short, thin leg to grab the ball as it fell on the grass.
From there the Proteas crumbled to finish 145 for eight, blowing another chance to shed their long-held reputation as World Cup “chokers”.
“We’ve got ourselves to blame, but yeah, I think our T20 side is in a good position,” South Africa coach Mark Boucher told reporters.
“It’s disappointing to have an exit like this with this particular squad because I believe we deserve better as a squad.”