The painful final defeat of the 2024 FIFA World Cup T20 South Africa against India remains a theme that the Proteas simply refuse to revisit. In the pre-match press conference ahead of the Super 8 match against India, opener Quinton de Kock revealed that the way the team dealt with the heartbreak was straightforward: they chose to forget it ever happened.
“To be honest, we just forgot about it after that game. To be honest, none of us wanted to talk about it. We went home and went through our own processes to deal with it. That’s pretty much it. We never really talked about it,” De Kock said.
THE FINALS STILL looming
It’s easy to see why. South Africa came agonizingly close to winning their first ever T20 World Cup title in Barbados he needs just 30 runs off the last 30 balls with Heinrich Klaasen in devastating form. The wicket-keeper batsman took the game away from India, smashing Axar Patel for 24 runs in a single over and the trophy looked destined for South Africa’s hands.
But cricket has a way of turning things on their heads. Hardik Pandya dismissed Klaasen in the 17th over and the Indian bowlers made sure the Proteas could not recover. Chasing 177, South Africa fell just a few runs short in the last three overs to suffer one of the most gut-wrenching losses in World Cup finals history.
NEW CHAPTER, FRESH RIVALRY
Sunday’s Super 8 match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will be the first time the two teams have met in a T20 World Cup match since that final, and South Africa will arrive with renewed confidence. Since that defeat in Barbados, the Proteas have won the final of the World Test Championship, a triumph they say has fundamentally changed how the cricketing world perceives them.
If their preparations are anything to go by, South Africa are approaching this game with a clear game plan. The Aiden Markram’s off-spin is expected to play a major role, with the team targeting India’s top order in what could prove to be a decisive tactical battle.
The India vs South Africa Super 8 match starts on February 22 at 7 PM IST at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
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Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
February 21, 2026
