South Africa’s dream of winning a World Cup remains elusive as the team suffered another heart-wrenching loss in the Women’s T20 World Cup final in Dubai. In a tense match, New Zealand claimed victory by 32 runs, marking their first-ever Women’s T20 World Cup title. This defeat extended South Africa’s painful history of near-misses, as no South African team—men’s or women’s—has ever won a World Cup title. What makes this loss even more difficult is that it marks the third time in just 1.5 years that South Africa has lost a World Cup final.
South Africa’s Heartbreak Continues
South Africa’s repeated struggles on the big stage have earned them the unfortunate reputation of being “chokers.” In the past, the team often stumbled in semi-finals, but recent tournaments have seen them progress to finals only to lose at the last hurdle. The Women’s T20 World Cup final in 2023 was their first appearance in the final of a global tournament, but they fell short against Australia. This time, in Dubai, South Africa had another chance to break their World Cup curse, but New Zealand proved too strong.
Adding to the pain was the South African men’s team’s performance earlier this year. In June 2024, they reached the final of the Men’s T20 World Cup, only to lose a nail-biting match against India in Barbados. Despite a strong run throughout the tournament and even knocking out six-time champions Australia in the semi-finals, South Africa fell short in the final, once again missing their chance at glory.
Three Final Defeats in 1.5 Years
In a span of just 20 months, South Africa has lost three major World Cup finals. The first heartbreak came in February 2023 when the South African women’s team reached the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup on home soil but lost to Australia. The second blow came when the men’s team lost the T20 World Cup final in June 2024 to India. And now, the third defeat has come with the women’s team losing to New Zealand in the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup final.
Chasing Troubles for South Africa
A key pattern in South Africa’s World Cup final losses is their struggle while chasing a target. In all three finals, South Africa was tasked with chasing a score but fell short each time. In the most recent final in Dubai, New Zealand set a strong target of 158 runs in 20 overs. Despite a solid effort, the South African women’s team could only manage 126 runs in response, handing New Zealand their first-ever Women’s T20 World Cup title.
Similarly, in the men’s final in Barbados, South Africa came agonizingly close to victory, falling just one run short of India’s target of 177. And in the 2023 Women’s T20 final, Australia’s target of 157 proved too much for South Africa, continuing their unfortunate trend of falling short when chasing.
