Look back in dejection: South Africa's tragic tales

"A tragedy is a representation of an action that is whole and complete and of a certain magnitude. A whole is what has a beginning and middle and end."- Aristotle

Cricket has often been hailed as a game of uncertainty. A world where fortunes can change in the blink of an eye, an arena where even the weakest can deliver a blow to decimate the mightiest. The paradigm of reign shifts with time, the ebb and flow of power creates and destroys kingdoms. Often, the one touted as the favourite ends up as a baffled loser, unable to comprehend the cruel lash of fate. More often than not, South Africa have ended up bearing a mark of that lash, a wound so deep that the cry of pain echoes in the annals of cricket's greatest tragedies.

1992 World Cup, England vs South Africa, semifinal

Highlights of the match

The players and the spectators looked at the scoreboard in disbelief, as the sound of gasp was heard all around the stadium. It read, "South Africa need 22 runs to win from 1 ball". An impossible target, a huge burden on South Africa.

England, batting first, set a target of 252. South Africa raced towards the total like a deadly weapon determined to wreak havoc on the enemy. As they were nearing the target assuredly and assertively, fate smiled its crooked and evil smile. The sky opened up and the umpires soon decided to stop play with South Africa needing 22 runs from 13 balls.

A new rule was introduced in the World Cup to thwart the threats of rain and the calculation method went by the name of Duckworth-Lewis. When the match resumed, South Africa were left stranded as defeat glared at them. The new rule reduced their chase to a farce and Brian McMillan blocked the final ball.

1999 World Cup Semifinal, South Africa vs Australia

Photo Credit: ICC-cricket.com

The single never taken, and the final never reached. Photo credit: ICC-Cricket.com

A match that gained an immortal place in the cricketing folklore as one of the greatest ODIs ever played. It was like poetry in motion, a brilliant saga that left the audience with emotions where joy and sorrow mingled. Australia batted first and scored a paltry 213, thanks largely to Michael Bevan's 65.

Shaun Pollock ripped apart the Aussie batting line-up with a marauding spell of 5 for 36. In reply, South Africa surged towards the target until they suffered a collapse, and in the end, they needed 9 runs from the last over. Lance Klusener, their maverick all-rounder, was present in the middle scoring 31 runs from just 14 balls.

In the fourth ball of the over, with South Africa needing one run for victory, Klusener mistimed his shot to Steve Waugh at mid-off and sprinted for a single. Allan Donald, his partner at the non-striker's end did not hear his call for a run initially. Donald was run out for a diamond duck. The match ended in a tie and Australia advanced to the final because they won the last match between the two teams in the same World Cup.

2003 World Cup, South Africa vs Sri Lanka

Highlights of the match

Duckworth-Lewis, South Africa's biggest nemesis, came back to haunt them again. With a win need to advance to the Super Six round, South Africa were chasing a target of 269 set by Sri Lanka. When the score was at 229 for 6, heavy rain stopped play.

The torrential downpour forced the umpires to call off the match and it ended in a tie. Mark Boucher player the last ball of the 45th over for a dot, unknown of the fact that his team needed only one run to stay ahead of the D/L score.

2015, South Africa vs New Zealand

South Africa's bowler Dale Steyn reacts after New Zealand's Grant Elliot hit a shot for six runs to win the 2015
Cricket World Cup semi-final match against South Africa in Auckland. Photo credit: Reuters

Dale Steyn cut a forlorn figure, as New Zealand's batsman Grant Elliott tried to console him. A match famously remembered for a six, and the dejected faces of South African players. Electing to bat, South Africa raced to 281/5 in 43 overs, as a mammoth total beckoned them. But then, rain intervened to put the New Zealand bowlers out of their misery.

The Kiwis had to chase 298 in their 43 overs and it came down to 12 runs off the last over. Grant Elliott was facing Dale Steyn and the enthralled fans listened to the rhythmic sound of their quickened heartbeats. Seven runs came from off the first four balls. In the fifth ball of the over, Elliott carted Steyn for a six over deep mid wicket boundary. The man born in South Africa and raised in New Zealand handed his mother country a defeat that would be hard to swallow in the years to come.