South Africa in the T20 CWC – Proteas reach the final in 2024 after ninth attempt

South Africa won both their group matches in 2009, Scotland going down by 130 runs (AB de Villiers hammering 79* of 34 balls) before squeezing home against New Zealand by just one run. They then won all three of their Super 8 matches, first England by seven wickets, then the West Indies by 20 runs before beating India by 12 runs.

They lost the semi-final to eventual winners Pakistan by seven runs, South Africa scoring 142/5 off their 20 overs in the chase, Jacques Kallis top-scoring with 64 off 53 balls.    

South Africa finished second behind eventual champions Sri Lanka in Group 1 on net run rate. They lost their first match to Sri Lanka by five runs, beat New Zealand by two runs, beat the Netherlands by six runs and beat England by three runs. 

In the semi-final, they lost to India by six wickets, although South Africa stretched them to the first ball of the final over. Faf du Plessis scored 58 off 41 balls and Beuran Hendricks took 2/31 off his four overs, but Virat Kohli’s 72 off 44 balls proved the difference. 

South Africa won all eight matches on the way to the final. They won their group matches by 3 wickets, 7 runs and 18 runs… then won their Super 8 matches by 1 run, 4 runs, 4 wickets and six wickets to make the semi-final.

In the semi-final they demolished Afghanistan by nine wickets after rolling them for 56 runs, Marco Jansen destroyed the top-order by taking 3/16 (econ 5.33), with Tabraiz Shamsi rolling the tail with figures of 3/6 (econ 3.27). 

In the final, India scored a challenging 176/7 off their 20 overs, with Keshav Maharaj taking 2/23. Quinton de Kock got the innings off to a flyer with 39 off 31 balls, but it was Heinrich Klaasen's astonishing 52 off 27 balls that put the Proteas in the driving seat. A flurry of wickets put the Proteas under pressure and then ended an agonising eight runs short of that elusive World Cup trophy.

11.40 – Anrich Nortje has the best bowling average in the tournament’s history

23 – AB de Villiers has taken the most catches by a fielder

459/12 – South Africa and England shared the highest match aggregate score in the tournament’s history; South Africa scored 229/4, only for England to score 230/8 to win at Wankhede in 2016.