Seriously, what is it about South Africa and global cricketing tournaments?
It all seemed good. The start was a little sluggish from Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla in their must-win match against India in the Champions Trophy. But Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers had picked up the pace and were looking good at 140/2 in just 28 overs.
And then this happened at the Oval on Sunday.
Now, he may be Mr 360 and the No 1 ranked batsman in One-Day International cricket but AB de Villiers is not new to this. He has a reputation for finding ways to run himself out especially in pressure situations.
But as the celebrations started for Indian fans, it soon made way for more hilarity. That run-out was overtaken by THIS:
The two Protea batsman in the above photo are Faf du Plessis and David Miller. The former turned a ball back to third-man, called and bailed out, only to see his partner Miller join him at the other end. It was, frankly, a terrible throw by Jasprit Bumrah. The ball missed Dhoni, went to the other end where Kohli took the bails off .The third umpire had to be called to figure out who was dismissed. Spoiler alert: it was Miller.
And right on cue, the jokes started.
Of course, there was a gentle dig at the only other team in international cricket who could pull off anything similar...
And obviously it’s South Africa. That dreaded “C” word isn’t too far away. Especially when you put in a performance like this.
Fittingly, the innings ended with a return of the common theme of the day. Run and out.
After that, there was only one thing you could really say...