Looking back: How the Proteas have fared at the T20 World Cup
· Citizen
South Africa are the only unbeaten team left in the tournament, heading into their last Super Eight match against Zimbabwe at the T20 World Cup in Dubai on Sunday.
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With the Proteas already having qualified for the semifinals next week, with a match to spare, we look back at their campaign thus far.
Group Stage
Canada
In their first group stage match in Ahmedabad, the Proteas were not expected to be challenged by Canada, lying 14 places below them in the world rankings. And they did not disappoint.
Batting first, the SA team were anchored by captain Aiden Markram who hit a half-century at the top of the order as they coasted to 213/4.
In response, the Canadians were restricted to 156/8, with seam bowler Lungi Ngidi (4/31) leading the Proteas attack to earn the Player of the Match award, as South Africa secured a convincing 57-run victory.
Afghanistan
In the most thrilling match of the tournament, the SA side had to dig deep to edge Afghanistan in a hard-fought clash in Ahmedabad.
The match ended in a tie during regular play, with both teams racking up 187 runs, and in the first super over, both sides then bashed 17 runs to take the game to a rare second super over.
The Proteas compiled 23 runs in the second super over, and while Rahmanullah Gurbaz thumped three successive sixes for Afghanistan, he was removed off the final ball as they were contained to 19 runs.
New Zealand
Facing higher-ranked New Zealand in Ahmedabad, a lot was riding on this game, but the Proteas had no real trouble holding off their opposition.
After being sent in to bat, the Black Caps made 175/7, with seamer Marco Jansen spearheading South Africa’s attack by taking 4/40.
With the bat, Aiden Markram again led from the front, racking up 86 not out off 44 deliveries as he guided his team to a seven-wicket victory with 17 balls to spare, boosting their confidence as they switched their focus to the next round of the tournament.
United Arab Emirates
Heading into their last fixture of the group stages, the Proteas had already qualified for the Super Eight round, but they managed to keep their momentum going with a six-wicket win in Delhi.
They were unusually sloppy in the field, spilling some catches, but they delivered with bat and ball.
After sending the UAE team in to bat, they held them to 122/6 with seamer Corbin Bosch (3/12) leading the charge, and an all-round effort from the SA batters saw them cruising to 123/4 with more than six overs remaining.
Super Eights
India
Moving on to the Super Eight stage, South Africa needed to step up against the in-form defending champions who were expected to be difficult to beat in front of a lively home crowd in Ahmedabad.
They left nothing to chance, however, producing a dominant effort that left India flailing.
The Proteas middle-order batters stood up, led by David Miller (63 off 35), as they compiled 187/7 in their 20 overs.
In response, India were bowled out for 111, with Marco Jansen taking 4/22 as the Proteas earned a 76-run victory.
West Indies
Ahead of the game, South Africa and West Indies were the only unbeaten teams in the competition, and it was a crunch clash for both sides.
While they had the Caribbean team against the ropes at 83/7 in the 11th over, after destructive spells by Proteas seamers Lungi Ngidi (3/30) and Kagiso Rabada (2/22), the West Indies lower order put up a fight as they reached 176/8.
In their chase, Aiden Markram stood up again with an unbeaten 82-run contribution, and he was well supported by Quinton de Kock (47) and Ryan Rickelton (45) as the South Africans cruised to a nine-wicket win with 23 balls to spare.