Wrong South Africa turn up, and are sent home

Two young men, both scraggily bearded, embraced on the boundary at Eden Gardens. They walked to the middle for the toss, sharing easy conversation, smiles, and knowing looks. Mitchell Santner and Aiden Markram, by all accounts, good blokes. But their friendly prelude seemed oddly casual for a T20 World Cup semifinal.

The tone shifted quickly. Matt Henry, fresh from the birth of his second child, bowled the first ball. Markram nudged it for a single. Then, Cole McConchie struck twice in consecutive deliveries: Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton caught playing ragged strokes. South Africa were 12/2 after 11 balls. This was not just another match.

This was a stark departure from their tournament form. In earlier games, they had been solid: over a hundred runs before losing their second wicket against Canada, Afghanistan, and New Zealand; 56/2 against UAE; and just one wicket down against West Indies. They had also been in early trouble against India (12/2) and Zimbabwe (14/2), but won those too. Now, at 12/2 in a semifinal, the pressure was immediate.

Dewald Brevis joined Markram, edging McConchie's hattrick ball for four. A reprieve followed: Rachin Ravindra dropped a straightforward catch at midwicket that would have sent Markram back for 3, leaving South Africa 22/3.

Markram responded, hammering Lockie Ferguson through the covers for four, then launching Jimmy Neesham over midwicket for six. Brevis added two consecutive cover drives for fours, plundering 17 from the over. South Africa seemed to be finding their rhythm.

But in the eighth over, with the partnership at 43 off 35, Markram skied Ravindra towards long-on. Daryl Mitchell sprinted in, dived forward, and claimed the dipping catch. Was it clean? He gestured uncertainty. The decision went upstairs. Replays suggested the ball touched ground before Mitchell secured it. Third umpire Nitin Menon thought otherwise. Out. Markram trudged off, his earlier smile replaced by a scowl.

The collapse accelerated. Within 16 deliveries, David Miller and Brevis fell to loose drives. South Africa were 77/5. Tristan Stubbs was yet to face a ball when Marco Jansen arrived.

The much-vaunted depth of South Africa's batting was under pressure. Markram's dismissal wasn't self-inflicted; the rest of the top order's largely were.

Stubbs and Jansen rebuilt, adding 73 off 48. Ferguson broke the stand in the 19th, cleaning up Stubbs with a leg cutter. At 150/6, South Africa had something to bowl at.

Jansen launched a furious assault, swinging hard for an unbeaten 55 (2 fours, 5 sixes). They added 19 from the last 11 balls, though Henry's final over claimed Corbin Bosch and Kagiso Rabada with consecutive deliveries. South Africa finished 169/8.

Was it enough? They had defended lower totals, but that was against a weary Zimbabwe. This pitch was slow, and South Africa's bowling was superior. For New Zealand to falter, they'd need to bat as poorly as South Africa had.

The contest was effectively settled in the Powerplay. South Africa had been 48/2 after theirs. New Zealand roared to 84/0—already nearly half the target. Tim Seifert (11 off Jansen's first over) and Finn Allen took charge. The assault continued: 18 off Jansen, 11 off Lungi Ngidi, 14 off Rabada, 22 off Bosch.

The result became a formality. New Zealand sealed a comprehensive nine-wicket win with 43 balls to spare. Seifert and Allen put on 117 off 55. Allen and Ravindra knocked off the remaining 53 off 20. Allen finished 100* off just 33 balls (10 fours, 8 sixes).

The finale was symbolic. With scores level and Allen on 96, Jansen ran in. A full, hittable delivery. Allen hammered it through long-off for the winning boundary.

As the South Africans left the field, they might have wondered who that was in the yellow and green. This wasn't the team that had strung together seven consecutive wins. The wrong South Africa turned up. Now, they're on the long way home.