Bumbling Proteas crash and burn out of the Champions Trophy

Call it choking, call it nerves or call it a lack of confidence.

Either way, the Proteas crashed out of the ICC Champions Trophy after a massive collapse saw them slump to a eight-wicket defeat against India at The Oval on Sunday.

It was another depressing chapter of failure at a major tournament for South Africa, who only have themselves to blame.

For all the talk of them having one of the best batting line-ups, that never translated into runs.

Put into bat, South Africa crashed and burned from 140/2 to be bowled out for 191.

And the most bitter thing to swallow is that it was thoroughly avoidable.

He’s been a hero for the Proteas the past year but Faf du Plessis has to take much responsibility for putting his side in that position.

In the 29th over, he played a late dab to point.

Without actually making a call, Du Plessis looked at his partner – skipper AB de Villiers (16) – to suggest a run was on.

De Villiers did his best to get there but his dive wasn’t enough to beat Hardik Pandya’s excellent throw.

But the worst was to follow.

Four balls later, Du Plessis edged to short third man.

It was behind him so it clearly wasn’t his call yet he ran.

Then he hesitated.

Then he ran again, which poor David Miller interpreted as having to hare down the pitch.

Bafflingly, Du Plessis stopped and dived back in his crease, selling his partner down the river.

To call the whole mess amateurish would actually be an injustice.

Suddenly on 142/4, the Proteas sunk without a trace.

The seamer duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/23) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/28) enjoyed themselves against the lower order and were rewarded for some disciplined bowling up front.

South Africa really should be kicking themselves.

After losing the toss, the definitely didn’t want to bat first but the top four adapted really well.

Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla (35) overcame a sluggish start before Du Plessis’ sprightly 36 injected pace into the innings.

De Kock went on to make 53 and the platform was set for the Proteas’ two leaders – Du Plessis and De Villiers – to take the game by the scruff of the neck.

Then the incompetence happened.

India’s batting order had virtually no problem knocking off the target with 12 overs to spare against a stale attack.

Shikhar Dhawan led the way with an excellent 78 off 83, while Virat Kohli ended unbeaten on 76.

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