South Africa is currently at their best, having beaten Australia in their last four matches and heading into Thursday’s World Cup semi-final well prepared. However, the team has a history of crumbling under pressure during World Cup matches. They have lost crucial matches in a comical and excruciating manner in the past. South Africa’s instances of choking under pressure have been recurring since the 1992 World Cup, where they lost because of a farcical rain rule. In the 1999 World Cup, they failed after a premature celebration and lost, even after containing Australia. They choked in the 2003 World Cup because of a mistaken judgment under the D/L method, and then again in the 2007 and 2015 World Cups. They also suffered a similar fate in the 2017 Champion’s Trophy and the 2022 T20 World Cup. Despite winning multiple group stage matches, South Africa has had an unfortunate history of collapsing in important knockout matches.