Slowly shedding the 'Chokers' tag?

The stage was set for another classic South African choke in an ICC event when they took on West Indies in a virtual knockout fixture in the Super Eight stage of the ICC T20 World Cup yesterday in Antigua.

Even after winning all five of their previous matches, South Africa somehow found themselves in a do-or-die encounter against the Caribbeans, where the winner would move onto the semifinals while the loser's campaign would come to an end.

It was a low-scoring thriller, something the ongoing edition has seen plenty of, which also included a rain interruption in the Proteas' chase, adding more drama to an already nervy affair.

South Africa had already lost a couple of wickets in the first two overs when rain stopped play and once action resumed, they were set a revised target of 123 in 17 overs.

From there, what proceeded resembled a boxing bout between two heavyweights, constantly exchanging heavy blows but no one gaining the upper hand.

Almost every middle-order batter in the South African line-up got starts, reaching scores of 20s and thereabouts. But whenever it looked like the Proteas would take the ascendency, West Indies would counterpunch with breakthroughs.

Eventually, with 23 needed off 24 balls and five wickets in hand, it seemed like the Proteas had this one in the bag. But then set batter Tristan Stubbs succumbed to the pressure of the situation, just like many South African batters of the past in knockout scenarios, trying to hit a six off Roston Chase only to get caught at long-on.

The echoes of South Africa's past horrors in knockouts got even louder when Keshav Maharaj got caught off the same bowler in the penultimate over, with a risky shot when only 13 were required off 11 balls.

The raucous home crowd at the Sir Vivian Richard Stadium erupted at the dismissal, while the few South African fans present looked on fearing another heart-breaking elimination from a World Cup.

But the Aiden Markram-led side is different to the past South African sides in ICC events at least in one crucial account. Unlike past teams, this group of players have repeatedly shown they can hold their nerves till the end and eke out victories.

South Africa are the only team in the tournament who have won all of their matches, but their victories have been far from dominant. The Proteas have been in vulnerable situations in all of their matches and have had to scratch and claw themselves out of a hole, which was perfect preparation for the situation they found themselves in against West Indies yesterday.

With pressure mounting, Kagiso Rabada hit a crucial four in the final ball of the 16th, leaving five runs for the final over.

The pressure, this time, got the better of pacer Obed McCoy, who dished a ball right in Marco Jansen's hitting zone, who muscled it over long-on for a six and took South Africa to the semis.

The close wins in the first round and Super Eight, although impressive, are not enough to shed South Africa's dreaded choker tag. To get rid of that moniker, the Proteas must go all the way for the first time. But even before that, they need to win the semifinal, something they have never done in senior cricket.