3 occasions when the runout of AB de Villiers cost South Africa the match

#3 New Zealand vs South Africa, 3rd Q/F of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, Mirpur

A jubilant New Zealand after de Villiers' run-out.

The third Quarter-Final of the 2011 World Cup offered South Africa the best possible chance to win a knockout encounter and shed the dreaded 'CHOKERS' tag once and for all. They were up against the Kiwis, the perennial 'dark horses' known for punching above their weights in crucial matches.

South Africa restricted New Zealand to a sub-standard 8-221 as their bowlers led by Morne Morkel (3-46) made life difficult for the Kiwi batsmen barring Jessie Ryder who made a pristine 83. The Proteas looked on course in their chase at 3-121 with Duminy and AB de Villiers at the crease. But then tragedy struck twice for South Africa. The first one came in the form of JP Duminy who lost his middle stump while trying to cut the ball off Nathan McCullum.

Faf du Plessis arrived to play his part in the second one that came in the form of a run-out of AB de Villiers. du Plessis tapped the ball to mid-wicket and calls AB for a sharp single but Martin Guptill, one of New Zealand's better fielder, was up to the task as he rocketed away from the throw to keeper Mccullum who whipped off the bails in a flash. The replays displayed de Villiers short of his crease. His wickets proved to be a huge moment in the game as South Africa slipped to 7-132 and despite a valiant knock by du Plessis (36), the Proteas ended up 49 runs short of the requisite target.

Result: New Zealand won by 49 runs.