ICC Champions Trophy 2017, India vs South Africa: 5 things South Africa did wrong

South Africa's ICC tournament woes seem to have no end as they collapsed like a pack of cards against India here at The Oval. Put in to bat, the Proteas were too watchful at the start and the pressure built up resulting in a couple of wickets.

However, Du Plessis and De Villiers seemed to have steadied things before sanity took a backwards step. De Villiers and then David Miller were run-out off consecutive overs trying impossible singles and the whole innings collapsed. They eventually set a well below-par target of 192 for India to qualify for the semi-finals.

Despite losing Rohit Sharma early, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli stood firm against some decent bowling. The pair cruised to a hundred run partnership that eventually sealed the game for India easily. Here are five things the Proteas did wrong on the night.

#5 No intent in the first 10 overs

South Africa have started slowly with the bat right through the tournament and the trend continued against India. In their defence, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah bowled impeccable lines, but that does not hide the fact that there was little intent from the South African openers viz Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla.

De Kock and Amla were in a shell and built up pressure on themselves with the slow approach. With Jadeja and Ashwin set to bowl in the middle overs on a dry wicket, a quickish start was what the Proteas needed. Unfortunately, the openers focussed too much on not losing their wicket which eventually led to a collapse.

#4 Running between the wickets

Du Plessis was guilty of running out both AB de Villiers and David Miller

South Africa and knockout matches rarely pass by without rain or a major run-out. There seems to be no end to this trend as they lost their biggest scalp of the night, AB de Villiers, yet again to a run-out after some terrible calling from Faf du Plessis.

David Miller departed in the next over to another run-out as South African fans watched in horror at the madness committed. The Proteas were cruising before the de Villiers run-out but those two wickets completely changed the course of the game.

#3 None of the middle order batsmen batting responsibly

Du Plessis couldn't carry his team to a good total

With De Villiers and Miller back in the hut, the onus was on Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy and Chris Morris to get South Africa somewhere near a competitive total. But the momentum had turned completely in India's favour as the Proteas found themselves in a rut.

Du Plessis, however, departed soon as he inside edged a Hardik Pandya cutter onto his stumps while Duminy hung around without much to do as Morris and co. committed harakiri at the other end. The Indian bowling was tight and fielding was exceptional but there was sad to see little effort from the Proteas batsmen to hang around.

#2 Not sharp enough in the field

Kohli was dropped by Amla a little early in his innings

The crowd are used to seeing South Africa fumble in the field in knockout games and witnessed the same yet again here at The Oval. Despite Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel bowling tight lines up front, the fielders in the circle showed little intent to stop the quick singles.

Miller was guilty of missing a chance to run-out Dhawan in the second over as he misfielded off Phehlukwayo's first ball to concede three while Amla put down Kohli at slips off the same bowler.

Although it was a really tough chance, with just 191 on the board, South Africa had to take blinders to win the game. The fielding, which was top notch against Lanka, let them down yet again, however, in a crunch game.

#1 Lacking belief

South Africa lacked the belief needed to win the encounter

If South Africa are to overcome their ICC blues, they first need to believe that they can win it. AB de Villiers and co did little to prove that they had the belief to win this game, let alone the trophy. The two run-outs had pushed them to a corner but teams that win big tournaments find a way to fight themselves out of that hole.

Heads and shoulders dropped as soon as De Villiers and Miller were back in the hut. The panic button was pressed as soon as du Plessis ran his school mate out, much like in the 2011 World Cup Quarter-Final or the 2015 World Cup game against India. Believing that they have the firepower to overcome such a crisis situation is their first stepping stone to winning tournaments.