T20 World Cup: South Africa disappointment, Pakistan joy & more underdog success

The Super 12s at the Men's T20 World Cup came to a thrilling conclusion after an action-packed Sunday produced another shock in a tournament of upsets.

The latest surprise is arguably the biggest of them all as South Africa, one of the pre-tournament favourites, were eliminated after a stunning 13-run defeat by the Netherlands, who were the lowest-ranked side left in the tournament.

That left the door ajar for Pakistan, who blasted right through it to England, New Zealand and India in the semi-finals.

As the dust settles what now for "emotional" South Africa after this latest in a long line of tournament failures? Will Pakistan make the most of their second chance? And have the tournament minnows earned their chance to rub shoulders with the big boys more often?

It is yet another failure at a major tournament for the Proteas, who have a habit of stumbling when it matters despite regularly possessing some of the most talented players.

Their most notorious failure is arguably the 1999 World Cup semi-final, when they were tied with Australia in the final over with one wicket remaining only for a mix-up between Lance Klusener and Allan Donald leading to a run out, with Australia progressing as they had finished higher in the earlier group stage.

It has been a familiar tale of woe since then, either by calamity or misfortune.

They can rightly curse bad luck when they batted their way into a dominant position in their first match of this tournament against Zimbabwe only for wet weather to lead to an abandonment.

Two wins, including an impressive five-wicket victory over India, put their fate back into their own hands. But successive defeats to Pakistan and the Netherlands etches another sorry chapter in South African cricket history.

"We deserve better as squad. We've got ourselves to blame," said Mark Boucher, who announced in September that he is to step down as coach after the tournament.

"We're in a good position we just have to keep the players interested in playing for South Africa. That's a big question that needs to be answered."

Captain Temba Bavuma added: "We knew it was a must-win game and we faltered when it really mattered. It'll be a hard one to swallow for the guys."

Speaking to BBC Test Match Special, former England batter Ravi Bopara said he has found South Africa players tend to be "emotional cricketers" which may explain why they often struggle at big tournaments.

"I don't think anyone ever deserves to have that tag of not being able to hold their nerve or chokers or anything like that," he said. "But you do find in ICC competitions, which is their big thing they don't have an Ashes or an India/Pakistan rivalry, they don't seem to hold their nerve when it comes to the big games unfortunately.

"They will improve and come back stronger and will be better after playing under extreme pressure [in their new T20 league]. Just a little bit less emotion would be the thing to work on with South Africa."

For Pakistan, their journey to the semi-finals is a lesson in never giving up.

Babar Azam's side made a calamitous start to the tournament, losing a thriller to a Virat Kohli-inspired India before a one-run defeat by Zimbabwe.

Successive wins over the Netherlands and South Africa still did not look like being enough - until the Proteas' defeat to the Dutch gave them a second chance.

Again it was their bowlers who teed up their nervy victory over Bangladesh, with Shaheen Afridi, back to full fitness after missing the Asia Cup with a knee injury, taking 4-22.

Pakistan's batting has yet to fully fire, especially the opening partnership of Babar, who has only scored 39 runs in the tournament, and Mohammad Rizwan.

"We got through to the semis because of the fans and all their prayers. Sometimes what the top cricketers need is when it gets difficult, they need too not only when they get through to the semi-finals," said Shaheen.

"Pakistan have snuck in through the back door and that makes them dangerous," Bopara, who predicts an England v Pakistan final, told BBC TMS.

"They've won a World Cup like that before and it has that feel about it."