OTD| South Africa lost the infamous World Cup semi-final as rain played spoilt sport in 1992

The Proteas have been very unfortunate when it comes to the World Cup. They have done brilliantly in all the major global tournaments. The inability to rise to the occasion in clutch moments has kept them away from the trophy. On some occasions, South Africa has found itself in the middle of some harsh turn of events. In the 1992 World Cup, they had to bow out from the semi-final due to rain. 

First Innings

Winning the toss South Africa elected to bat first. The Proteas started the semi-final by giving some early blows to England. The English openers Graham Gooch and Ian Botham were dismissed when England had only 39 runs in the account. Captain Gooch and Botham were the most important batters for England and their early departure was a big setback for the side batting first. 

However, Alec Stewart and Graeme Hick somehow brought things under control with a 71-run partnership. Hick continued to dominate the South African bowlers and scored 83 runs off 90 deliveries. The final flourish from Chris Lewis and Dermot Reeve got the team to 252/6 at the end of the first innings. England could only bat for 45 overs as the overs were not completed in the scheduled time which resulted in the shortening of the first innings. 

Heartbreak for South Africa

South Africa had a shaky start to their run chase. Kepler Wessels, the South African captain, was dismissed for an individual score of 17. Post this dismissal, there was a short partnership between Andrew Hudson and Peter Kirsten. This continued throughout the run chase. Whenever South Africa looked in control England would get a breakthrough to bring the game into balance. Almost all South African batters got a start but none of them could cross the 50-run mark. 

However, this did not hurt the run chase as South Africa was well on course. They looked set to go the distance with 231/6 on the board in 42.5 overs. But there was a rain interruption which changed everything. Due to rain interruption, the overs were reduced but the targets were not reduced proportionally. In the end, South Africa needed to score 21 runs off 1 ball which was next to impossible. As a result of this, the Proteas got eliminated in the most unfair manner possible. England progressed to the final with a 19-run victory.