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Form guide (most recent matches first)

Sunrisers Hyderabad: beat Daredevils by seven wickets, beat Royals by 11 runs, beat Kings XI by 13 runs
RCB: lost to CSK by six wickets, beat Mumbai by 14 runs, lost to KKR by six wickets

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Virat Kohli could probably sympathise with every fantasy league player. He’s not sure about who is going to perform, and there is no single player he can look at and say he’s my first pick. Royal Challengers Bangalore’s two most economical bowlers in their previous match against Mumbai Indians – Tim Southee and Yuzvendra Chahal – went for over 9.5 against Chennai Super Kings. Even the most reliable batsmen in his arsenal – himself included – were all dismissed for single-digit scores. He also cannot risk dropping many of them because of their unpredictability. What combination does he go with – a dilemma shared by many a fantasy league player.Even after only three wins in nine games, Kohli appears optimistic, perhaps because RCB overcame a bleak win-loss record in 2016 to make it to the final. He will have to sort out the bowling though. RCB have conceded 12.7 runs an over in the death, and now they have started to doze off in the other areas too. RCB were among the best fielding sides two weeks into the season. However, in their last four games, they have dropped eight of 21 attempted catches, which has caused their catch conversion rate to fall from 90% to 61%.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Sunrisers, meanwhile, are comfortably perched on top of the table. They are undisputed masters of defending a total. And in their previous match against Delhi Daredevils, the Sunrisers batsmen pulled off their best chase of the season. Shikhar Dhawan seemed to be finding form, which is good news for them.

Previous meeting

This is the first time these two teams will be meeting this season.

Likely XIs

Sunrisers Hyderabad 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Siddarth KaulRoyal Challengers Bangalore 1 Manan Vohra/Parthiv Patel (wk), 2 Brendon McCullum 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Mandeep Singh, 6 Colin de Grandhomme, 7 M Ashwin, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Strategy punt

Dhawan has lost his wicket to spinners four times this IPL, and averages only 12 against them. Since 2015, he has been dismissed by legspinners six times in 18 matches, and twice in four matches this season. M Ashwin, who dismissed the in-form Ambati Rayudu and created pressure in the middle overs against CSK, could be used against Dhawan.

Stats that matter

Rashid Khan has arguably been Sunrisers biggest asset. In the seven matches they have won, he has picked up 10 wickets at a barely believable economy-rate of 5.4. He has been especially good in the middle overs, giving away only 130 runs off 120 balls, eight of which resulted in wickets.Umesh Yadav has played under seven captains, but has been reaching new heights with Virat Kohli, averaging 21.2 and striking every 15.7 balls for RCB. Even when he led the KKR bowling attack for 51 matches, he averaged only 28.4 and struck every 20 balls.

Fantasy picks

Rashid undoubtedly makes the list. Kane Williamson’s knocks have been resulting in wins, so he could be another pick. Yusuf Pathan has a particularly good record in Hyderabad – an average of 43 and a strike-rate of 141.9 – and his exploits in the previous match makes him a favourite. From the visitors’ unit, Kohli or AB de Villiers would be the safest options.

He’s ranked ninth in the world. He’s regarded as one of the best in any format. But maybe because he is about to play only his 50th ODI that Kagiso Rabada is yet to feel like a leader.So sharp has Rabada’s rise in world cricket been, that it is easy to feel as if he’s been around for years. But although only 23 – routinely winning matches for South Africa, including the first ODI against Sri Lanka where he took four wickets – Rabada still lacks experience on any normal scale.In an attack featuring 22-year-olds Andile Phehlukwayo and Lungi Ngidi, as well as 28-year-old left-arm wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi, a leader is what Rabada is, even if he doesn’t feel that way.”I have not come to grips with the fact that I am the leader,” Rabada said ahead of the second ODI in Dambulla. “I don’t see it that way. I have a responsibility towards the team as the opening bowler. Of all the bowlers, I have got the most experience along with Shamsi. If you look at it that way, we are sort of leading. I don’t see myself as a much of a leader – all I know is that I have got some responsibility. If someone wants help, then I am all out to give that.”Rabada had been South Africa’s most penetrative bowler in the Test series, but even he had been neutralised to an extent on those dusty tracks. If Sunday’s pitch is any indication, however, the limited-overs matches on this tour are likely to be played on surfaces that offer more to the quicks.On Sunday, Rabada used the short-of-a-length delivery effectively, as he blasted out three top-order batsmen in his first spell. “The Test match pitches were completely different – they were just sand pits,” Rabada said. “It’s different now because the pitches have good bounce. It’s more like a usual one-day wicket.”So long as he stays fit, Rabada is a near certainty in South Africa’s squad for the World Cup next year, but he personally isn’t looking that far ahead. South Africa have a busy ODI schedule before they go to England for the tournament, and coaches have stressed that there is plenty of time remaining to gear themselves up for the big event.”At the moment it’s too early to think about the World Cup. We are working and thinking about this series. That is the priority. You will be working towards the World Cup, and you want to get to a certain level at the World Cup. But right now thinking about how we need to play here.”

Graeme Smith, the former South Africa captain, will do away with T20 internationals if he had the power to, while focusing on improving marketability of Tests to preserve the longest format.”Maybe the ICC needs to look at six months of T20 cricket domestically and six months of international cricket,” Smith said at an event in Mumbai, according to . “I don’t think T20 cricket should be played at the international level. My opinion is to retain domestic T20 competitions and have international cricket – Test and ODIs – and have a World Cup every couple of years.”Smith, who played 117 Tests in a 12-year international career, felt one way of increasing visibility of marquee tours and “historic Test series” like the Ashes.”There needs to be investment,” he said. “Maybe spend more money marketing Test cricket. So much money is spent in marketing the T20 format. Maybe there can be money marketing the stories and histories in Test cricket.”What’s great for the game is someone like [India captain] Virat Kohli who wants to do well in Test cricket and be successful and set standard for everyone else. As long as people like him consider Test cricket valuable, it’s important for the rest of the world.”Smith called for balance in the international schedule, the only way to ease pressure on players. He cited AB de Villiers’ example in saying a cramped calendar might have had a part to play in his sudden retirement from international cricket last week.”There are not many players who have played for 14-15 years that can travel nine, 10, 11 months a year, deal with the pressures, plus the family pressures, it’s very, very difficult,” he said, according to Reuters. “The guy has played international cricket for around 15 years.”More than anything, he has the right to decide when he’s had enough. He will have his own reasons for that, you got to respect that.”

ScorecardSurrey routed Somerset by an innings with more than four sessions to spare to replace them at the Specsavers County Championship table.Jade Dernbach and Morne Morkel shared eight wickets as Somerset, who had followed on 279 runs behind, were bowled out for 210 in 61.2 overs to hand Surrey victory by an innings and 68 runs.Only James Hildreth, who finished unbeaten on 89, offered prolonged resistance to a rampant Surrey seam attack. It is the first time since 1958 that Surrey have won three games in succession by an innings and they went on to win the Championship that season as well.The odds on a first title since 2002, which was when Surrey last won at Guildford, will have shortened after this impressive performance.They set victory by taking five wickets in the first hour as Somerset, who resumed on 18 for 0, lurched to 69 for 5.Morkel made the breakthrough with his first ball of the day, trapping Matt Renshaw lbw half forward for two. Dernbach then picked up the first of two wickets in his opening spell when George Bartlett drove loosely and was caught behind.Ed Byrom could only fend off the next delivery – a well-directed bouncer from Morkel – to short leg then Dernbach pinned Tom Abell deep in his crease.Rikki Clarke had Steve Davies held in the gully at which point Somerset had lost five wickets for 51 runs before Hildreth and Lewis Gregory dug in, either side of lunch.They added 62 runs to raise Somerset hopes of a fightback before another well-directed short ball from Morkel broke the stand as Gregory edged low to Clarke at slip.Dom Bess played down the wrong line and lost his off stump to Clarke but Josh Davey gave Hildreth good support in an eighth wicket stand of 62 although Davey rode his luck. Surrey were convinced he had been caught behind before he had got into single figures and he was dropped on 19 by Scott Borthwick at second slip.Hildreth pulled offspinner Amar Virdi, who was being watched by England’s chief selector Ed Smith, into the adjoining road for six and coped well with Morkel’s pace but he ran out of partners. Davey eventually gloved another good lifter, this time from Dernbach, to wicketkeeper Ollie Pope and Tim Groenewald played on for a second-ball duck.Morkel applied the final touch when Max Waller, batting as concussion replacement for Jack Leach, who had been struck on the helmet by the South African on the second day, edged another bumper to Pope.Hildreth hit 13 fours and faced 127 balls but lacked support against a Surrey side who look well equipped to end their long wait for the title on this evidence.

“Winning ugly” might be a fairly new facet of Australia’s game, but given that it worked in their Commonwealth Games semi-final, they won’t be afraid to go there again when they face India for the gold medal.Beth Mooney, who combined with Tahlia McGrath to lift the title favourites from another troubled start for the second match running, admitted New Zealand had got a little too close for comfort before Australia won their semi-final at Edgbaston by five wickets and three balls to spare.Related

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A key to this Australian team’s success – they are looking to add the inaugural women’s Commonwealth Games cricket title to their T20I and ODI world crowns – is their justifiable confidence that if one player or area of their game falls down, someone is there to step into the breach.”The belief in the dressing room is probably at an unprecedented level, to be honest, just because we seem to find a way to win and win ugly,” Mooney said.”It’s not always pretty, which perhaps in the past – probably five or six years ago – we were looking for that perfect game and trying to make it look as good as it could. We’ve sort of got an understanding now that it can look a bit ugly at times.”Tonight wasn’t the ugliest we’ve played, but there are certainly a few things we can touch up on before tomorrow.”On this occasion, Australia stumbled to 28 for 2 in pursuit of 145 for a place in the gold-medal match-up with India. But a 56-run partnership between Mooney and McGrath steadied the innings and kept Australia on top of the required run rate at most times.And, while the duo didn’t kick on to the heights of their century-plus stand from a similar situation in their last group game against Pakistan, a composed innings of 19 not out from Ashleigh Gardner as the common thread in stands of 26 with Rachael Haynes and an unbroken 16 with Grace Harris, meant Australia were always in touch and ultimately able to overhaul the target.”From my point of view, I was pretty disappointed to get out at the time I did just because the game was sort of in our hands a bit,” said Mooney. “I thought Rachael and I could get us home and hosed from that position, so that was disappointing, and probably something for me to reflect on.”But I think at the same time, Ash and Grace showed their maturity again and got us over the line. We can’t discount New Zealand. They’re a great side and really put us onto the pump tonight, as they have done over the last few years.”Tahlia McGrath made another significant contribution to take Australia towards victory•Getty Images

Just as Mooney and McGrath had rescued Australia against Pakistan, Gardner and Harris did the same with a 51-run stand for the sixth wicket against India, who defeated England by four runs in the other semi-final.”Ash is showing a different side of her game, which is really exciting for this group and for Ash herself. I think she’s absolutely going to be a player for our team for a long period of time that can win games for us off her own bat,” Mooney reflected.”I’m really excited to see that, and obviously the evolution of Grace has been pretty special. Seeing her back in the green and gold and being able to contribute like she has, and those guys will play for a long time, so for me, it’s always going to be nervous on the sideline until we get the winning runs, but today, they made it look a bit easier than it probably was.”At the T20 World Cup in 2020, Australia lost their opening match to India and then won their final clash. At this tournament, Australia won their first group game – also against India – with an over remaining and they are ready for the challenge India will pose again.”Semi-finals are tough,” Mooney added. “We do feel for England, it looked like a pretty tough game. But we also know the threat that India pose and we certainly didn’t take New Zealand lightly tonight either.”They really challenged us at times and I’m sure India will bring a similar game plan tomorrow against us, so hopefully we’re ready for that and can put on a show for it.”New Zealand were left to rue a rash of missed chances on the field against Australia. But Suzie Bates, New Zealand’s leading run-scorer and second behind Smriti Mandhana for the tournament, said all focus would now be on their bronze-medal play-off against hosts England, who beat them by seven wickets with 50 balls to spare in their last group match.”I always believe, and that’s one thing about this team is that we always fight and, especially against Australia, we fight right to the end,” Bates said just 12 hours before the start of their next game. “We know that we’ve got to give it our best and it’s disappointing, but I’m just really proud of the game that we put up after a really disappointing effort against England.”It just gives us confidence going into tomorrow, but tonight there’s going to be moments that are going to wake us up because there are some chances that we didn’t quite take. That’s cricket and you’ve got to be at your best against Australia.”It is quick, but you only get one chance to win a Commonwealth Games medal, so there’s going to be no problems for motivation. We can reflect on that [game against Australia] after the tournament. Right now it’s just about getting ourselves ready for tomorrow.”

Big picture

Pakistan and Afghanistan, two teams who are very familiar with the conditions in UAE, will be up against each other for the first time in the Asia Cup, on Wednesday, and only the third time in T20Is. Though Pakistan have a perfect record against Afghanistan – having won both the matches in 2013 and 2019 – it’s going to be anybody’s game in Sharjah.Having kicked off the Asia Cup with two impressive wins against higher-ranked Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the group stage, Afghanistan endured a defeat to Dasun Shanaka’s men after posting 175 for 6 in their first Super 4 match. But there were takeaways for them. First of all, it was a close game. And overall, they’ve shown they no longer just rely on the spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and captain Mohammad Nabi for wickets anymore. Their fast bowlers Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq have emerged as match-winners for them.In the batting department, the likes of Najibullah Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran have all stepped up to the challenge. They will need to keep to those levels if Afghanistan are to make the final.Pakistan, meanwhile, have been able to put up convincing victories despite injuries to key players and their captain being out of form. Mohammad Rizwan has done well to cover for Babar Azam, with 192 runs from three innings. The likes of Fakhar Zaman and Khushdil Shah have also chipped in, and in the previous match, against India, allrounder Mohammad Nawaz blazed away to 42 off 20 balls after being promoted to No.4.Bowling still remains their biggest strength, with spinners Shadab Khan and Nawaz sharing 13 wickets between them from three matches. Add the young Naseem Shah to the picture and the attack looks even more potent.While a victory will take Pakistan to the final after having beaten defending champions India in a last-over thriller, they will have to overcome a highly motivated opponent as Afghanistan themselves chase their first win in the Super 4s.

Form guide

Pakistan: WWLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Afghanistan: LWWLW

In the spotlight

Filling in a Shaheen Shah Afridi-sized hole in Pakistan’s bowling line-up isn’t easy, but Naseem Shah, just three T20Is old, has proved he can come close. He burst on the scene in red-ball cricket with his searing pace and swing, and turns out, that combination works in the shorter formats too. The 19-year-old has picked up five wickets in three matches so far in the competition and will have a big role to play in restricting Afghanistan’s improved batting. Especially with the experienced Haris Rauf struggling a little bit.Naseem Shah has starred with five wickets from three matches•AFP/Getty Images

Rahmanullah Gurbaz is coming off an 84 off 45 balls against Sri Lanka – albeit in a losing cause. He also hit an 18-ball 40 in a low-key chase in the Asia Cup opener. With a strike rate of 166.66 in the Asia Cup, the hard-hitting opener presents a serious threat to the Pakistan bowlers. He is also among a key group of players Afghanistan will be relying on to lift them up from the bottom of the Super 4 table.

Pitch and conditions

The team batting first will be looking to score big, as has been the case in two out of three matches played in Sharjah. Pakistan posted 193 against Hong Kong, and Sri Lanka chased down Afghanistan’s 175.

Team news

Rizwan, who injured his knee on Sunday, has been cleared to play by the Pakistan medical team and will keep his place both at the top of the order, and behind the wicket.Pakistan (probable): 1 Babar Azam (capt), 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Iftikhar Ahmed, 5 Khushdil Shah, 6 Shadab Khan, 7 Asif Ali, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Mohammad HasnainAfghanistan are unlikely to make changes.Afghanistan: 1 Hazratullah Zazai, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Ibrahim Zadran, 4 Najibullah Zadran, 5 Mohammad Nabi (capt), 6 Karim Janat, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Azmatullah Omarzai, 9 Naveen-ul-Haq, 10 Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan have won both their T20Is against Afghanistan in the past.
• Shadab Khan’s economy rate of 5.43 is the best among Pakistan players (with a minimum of five overs) at this Asia Cup.  
• Rashid Khan has dismissed Babar five times in T20s, conceding 58 runs off 48 balls

Warwickshire retained their sliver of hope of avoiding relegation from LV=Insurance County Championship Division One with a solid start with the bat on the opening day against Hampshire at Edgbaston.First team coach Mark Robinson admitted before the match that Warwickshire need “a lot to go our way” for them to stay up. First and foremost they have to win with plentiful batting points and they laid a decent platform by reaching 138 for 2 on a day stripped of 55 overs by rain and bad light.After the first session was lost to the weather, openers Rob Yates (77 not out, 129 balls) and Dom Sibley (54, 109) added 129 in 38 overs against a Hampshire attack missing spearhead Kyle Abbot (58 Championship wickets at 19.68 this season) due to a knee injury.The visitors chose to bowl but enjoyed no early success, despite some help from the pitch. Their bowling was not bad, and a shade unlucky at times, but perhaps lacked a bit of sparkle, an understandable legacy of the shock implosion of their title challenge against Kent last week.There was no joy for Keith Barker against the team for whom he took 359 first class wickets and helped to the 2012 County Championship title. Yates was particularly fluent from the off and reached 50 from 90 balls with his tenth four, flicked through mid-wicket off Barker.The scoring rate remained reasonably brisk, as was required with Warwickshire needing every possible batting point. Sibley, on his farewell appearance at Edgbaston before rejoining Surrey, followed to his half-century from 105 balls and the pair posted Warwickshire’s first century opening stand since the first game of the season.The breakthrough finally arrived when Sibley tickled a leg-side catch to wicketkeeper Aneurin Donald off Ian Holland. Holland immediately struck again when Alex Davies offered no shot to a ball which struck off stump but Sam Hain met the hat-trick ball with the middle of a forward defensive bat and bad light soon closed back in to lop off the last 14 overs.Warwickshire are without India all-rounder Jayant Yadav, who has returned home after being called up for the Rest of India squad, but have welcomed back fast bowler Liam Norwell from injury.

Keep the umbrellas and DLS sheets handy. With the La Niña weather event back across east and south-eastern Australia, there looks to be a strong chance that rain will play a part at the T20 World Cup over the coming days, including the opening Super 12s fixture at the SCG and the India-Pakistan game in Melbourne.Australia begin their title defence against New Zealand in Sydney on Saturday evening and the Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting an 80% chance of any rain with 1 to 3mm although the wettest day is currently forecast to be Friday. “Very high (90%) chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon and evening. The chance of a thunderstorm,” it currently states about Saturday.Things look even less promising for Sunday in Melbourne where India will face Pakistan at 7pm local time. There is currently a 90% chance of any rain that day, with between 10 to 25mm forecast.A minimum of five overs is required to constitute a match and there are no reserve days during the group stages, but there are for the semi-finals and final.The weather could also play a part in the final day of the first round in Hobart on Friday with a 60% chance of showers in the afternoon and evening. Ireland face West Indies and Scotland play Zimbabwe in what could yet be vital matches to decide Super 12 spots. Hobart then continues to host matches early in the Super 12s, with showers forecast on Sunday and Monday.The final day of the first round in Geelong on Thursday is currently looking fine, with only a small chance of a shower.There is better news over the west where England face Afghanistan in Perth on Saturday with the forecast set fair for that evening.Later in October the tournament moves to Brisbane and Adelaide.In September, the Bureau of Meteorology said that this year’s La Niña event may not last all summer, but that would still not be great news for this T20 World Cup.”At the moment, this La Niña isn’t looking particularly strong and it’s looking like it will peak probably fairly early in the summer or late in the spring,” Andrew Watkins, head of long-range forecasting, told the ABC. “Which is a little bit unusual, a little bit different to the La Niñas that we’ve been seeing in recent years.”

Returning to Test cricket was not an overwhelming motivation for Shai Hope, but now that he’s back for the first time since 2021, he’s ready to commit to a fresh era under new captain Roston Chase.Hope, who leads West Indies in both white-ball formats, had been approached to be interviewed for the role of Test captain after Kraigg Brathwaite stepped down. But he declined to be included in the process, in part, he said, due to the workload of being a three-format player, which was also in the conversations with head coach Daren Sammy about a return to the Test side.To add to the scrutiny of his recall, Hope has been handed the wicketkeeping gloves for the opening match against Australia in Barbados, just the third time in Tests he’s started as the designated keeper, although he’s a regular in the role in limited-overs cricket.Related

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“Representing West Indies, they always give me a lot of joy and pride,” Hope told ESPNcricinfo in Barbados. “I think that was the main focus, just being able to represent the region and bring my impact on the game and obviously the transfer of that inspiration back into the next generation.”I’m happy to be back. It’s not something I would say I was looking forward to in terms of, ‘I have to play Test cricket again’. But if the opportunity came, I would always be willing to take it.”I believe if I’m doing something, I’m committed to it,” he added. “So if I decided to come back and play Test cricket, my main focus would be to give it my all. If success is there or not, the decision to leave me in or include me, that’s up to the decision makers. But, yes, as long as I’m being committed to the task at hand, I think I’m going to give my all.”With a T20 World Cup early next year and the build towards the 2027 ODI World Cup, where West Indies face a scrap for direct qualification through the rankings after having missed on the 2023 edition, there will be a lot of pressure on Hope in the months and years ahead.”The reality is the best or the most elite players, they don’t play all throughout the year in all three formats,” he said. “So there’s some rest involved, [and] there’s some give or take. But I pride myself on being as fit and being as ready as possible for whatever is thrown at me. And that’s what I’m going to try to do. If I’m playing all three formats, let’s say for the next two, three, five, ten years, however long, I want to make sure I’m doing it the best I can.”The amount of cricket I’ve been playing for the last couple of years, the workload has been pretty intense. It’s just about managing that a little bit better. We understand the magnitude of games that we have over the next cycle.”It’s about seeing what’s best for West Indies cricket. I guess they felt as though I would have been the perfect person to come in at this stage in my career and see what impact I can have. And that’s what I’m trying to do.”In this Test side, alongside Chase, the recalled John Campbell and debutant Brandon King, Hope is part of a reshaped batting order.Pat Cummins and Roston Chase will lead their sides at the Frank Worrell Trophy•AFP/Getty Images

He announced himself to the world with twin centuries against England, at Headingley, in 2017 to help West Indies to victory and followed that with 62 at Lord’s in the final match of the series. His next outing against Zimbabwe brought 90, amid a golden two-month period, but only two more half-centuries followed over a four-year stretch until he was left out after playing Sri Lanka in 2021. Since that series, he has played just four first-class matches – two for Barbados and two for Sussex.”Shai Hope is a class player,” Chase said. “He has a lot of experience in the international arena. He’s also the captain in the white-ball format. I’m just looking for him to lead by example as a senior player and someone that I can lean on in pressure situations and to help me lead the troops in being a competitive Test team.”Hope was wicketkeeper in his most recent red-ball outing, against Trinidad and Tobago in March, where he reportedly struggled with the gloves, but Chase backed him to put in the hard work needed to do the role at Test level.”He’s been in the international arena for some time and, at this level, you have to put those things behind you very fast,” Chase said. “[I know] that he will be able to put that behind him. I’ve seen him working on his keeping a bit more now, too. So, hopefully that should put him in good stead and do a great job for us.”

No, it wasn’t a dream. Early on Sunday morning, not even eight hours after the world champion Springboks were beaten by Ireland in Dublin, South Africans woke up to the news that their men’s cricket team had been booted out of the T20 World Cup following a defeat to Netherlands. Yes, it is a nightmare.What should have been a stroll into the semi-finals, in what was increasingly looking like South Africa’s tournament to win – the blip against Pakistan notwithstanding – became what outgoing coach Mark Boucher conceded was “up there” (should that be “down there”?) with the worst of their major tournament blowouts. Sure, there will be some if-ing and but-ing about the Zimbabwe washout, but victories over Bangladesh and India set South Africa up nicely. All they had to do was win this match, against a team everyone expected them to beat, to reach the knockouts. It was entirely in their hands and they fumbled and floundered and, eventually, let it slip.Related

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“We’ve got ourselves to blame,” a “gutted” Boucher said.Later, his under-pressure captain Temba Bavuma echoed those thoughts. “Everything was in our hands as a team,” he said. “We had the confidence, we had the belief. We had the form behind us. When it mattered, we just couldn’t do the business.”In situations like these, when a team that has historically disappointed in pressure moments at World Cups to the point that everyone expects some strange coming together of circumstances to conspire against them, it is cruel to ask them to analyse why. It is easier to just let them sit with it and maybe in private, scream about it, but that’s not how professional sport is set up. Spectators want answers, maybe even someone or something to blame, and post-mortems must be written and broadcast. So why, South Africa? What went wrong and when did it start?Not what the South African fans were expecting to see•ICC via Getty

“When we woke up,” Boucher said. “If you look at the way we started the game, our energies were low. Whether that’s because it’s a 10.30am game, and times have been quite difficult…”He tailed off because, really. The morning start did present some different challenges through bounce and there will be some questions over South Africa’s decision to bowl first, but they had a plan. “We went through what this wicket plays like early morning. The history was that the wicket was a little bit cold and we decided to go in with the extra seamer and bowl first,” Boucher said. “We were looking to make a bit of inroads into their top order early doors and we just didn’t bowl well enough.”And that’s where it will really hurt. Because South Africa’s attack, lauded as the best in the tournament thanks to their variety, were “outbowled”, as Boucher put it.Only Anrich Nortje managed to beat the Dutch batters for pace, Wayne Parnell didn’t find swing, Lungi Ngidi’s change-ups were not as effective as they were in other matches, and Kagiso Rabada’s underwhelming tournament ended in an underwhelming performance. Among the frontline bowlers, he finished with the fewest wickets and the highest economy rate.In contrast, Netherlands’ Brandon Glover dismissed Rilee Rossouw with the legcutter, for example, as the Dutch adapted better. “They read the conditions really well and they adapted quicker than we did and they made it tough for us,” Boucher said.Still, a target of 159 was chaseable, even by a South Africa line-up carrying a captain who may have only just found a little bit of form. But South Africa failed to use the short, square boundary to their advantage while Netherlands caught well. Roelof van der Merwe’s running catch to dismiss David Miller was one of the grabs of the tournament and only stings more because van der Merwe is a South African, though it’s highly unlikely he would have been part of this squad.”We didn’t bowl like we should have bowled but we didn’t bat like I thought we should have batted,” Boucher said. “The total that was put on for us was maybe a little more than we expected but one our batting unit could have chased down. We deserved to be better as a squad but it didn’t happen.”That could be what South Africa need to zone in on: they felt they had earned the right to advance before they had gotten to that stage. “If you would have said to us, we’ve got Netherlands to play to get to a semi-final and you’ve got to beat them, we would have taken that,” Boucher admitted.Chances are a lot of teams would have made that mistake if they had already come through the tougher games in their group and could see the knockouts beckoning. But if South Africa have learnt a lesson, it’s too late for this campaign.2:21

How did Netherlands pull off the unimaginable?

For Boucher, who has been in this position as a player and now as a coach, it’s about moving on and accepting that they will return home without a World Cup. It may be easier for him, because he is leaving the team to take up a role with the Mumbai Indians.”It’s not the only upset that’s happened in the tournament,” he said. “In T20 cricket, you can get on to a bit of a roll, one or two batters come off, create a bit of pressure, and this happens. There’s been some very good sides that were beaten by the so-called lesser countries.”For the players, it’s about confronting the fact that another generation has been wounded and working quickly to ensure the scars do not settle too deep. Just this week, Faf du Plessis and Dale Steyn have spoken about how the 2015 semi-final loss took them almost a year to get over. South Africa can’t afford that, with the potential of 50-over World Cup Qualifiers looming in June and another World Cup less than 12 months away.Boucher doesn’t think this group would be too affected even though “the more you don’t do well, it does start playing in your head”. And Bavuma suggested he would work to help the newer players get over it quickly. “It [the chokers’ tag] will always be there, until we find ourselves in a situation where we get to a final. But there’s elements of learning we could take from it, especially the younger guys,” Bavuma said. “For someone like (Tristan) Stubbs or Marco Jansen, it’s for them not to make the same mistakes. Unfortunately, that tag, we are still going to carry that monkey on our backs.”At least, they don’t carry it alone anymore. As the sun rose over South Africa and the social-media apps were opened, it wasn’t anger that came through but a sense of resignation. Maybe it’s the same as the feeling that has come over the changeroom; the feeling that another one has got away and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. “This squad deserved to give themselves a better chance and it didn’t happen for us, which is very disappointing for me and every single guy in our dressing room,” Boucher said. And 60 million South Africans back home, too.