South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad had a humorous take on the ‘chokers’ tag often attributed to his side following their exit from the T20 World Cup 2026 at the semi-final stage. South Africa were thrashed by nine wickets by New Zealand on Wednesday, 4 March, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, bringing an end to their seven-match unbeaten run in the tournament.
After yet another knockout defeat in an ICC event, Conrad was asked for his reaction to the ‘chokers’ label attached to the Proteas. The head coach, however, responded light-heartedly, stating that a team needed to be in the contest to choke — whereas his side were comprehensively beaten by New Zealand.
SA vs NZ, T20 World Cup semi-final: Highlights | Scorecard
“I don’t know if tonight was a choke. I thought it was a proper walloping. To call it a choke, you need to have at least had a sniff of the game — and we didn’t. In South Africa, we’d say we were mauled. Tonight, we got a proper ‘snorkel’, which is another South African term for a real hiding,” said Conrad in the post-match press conference.
South Africa had seemingly shaken off the ‘chokers’ tag by winning the World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2025 against Australia at Lord’s. However, they once again fell short on the big stage, losing the semi-final to New Zealand.
Conrad also pointed out that many had not expected his team to even reach the semi-finals and insisted that criticism is part and parcel of elite sport.
“I’m sure there will be plenty of people jumping on the bandwagon, and there will be criticism. But we did many special things in this tournament, and I’m incredibly proud of these guys. Not many people gave us a chance of even reaching the semi-finals when we left home, given our form before the competition. That’s no consolation right now, of course. There will be criticism, and probably plenty of it, but that’s part of the game,” he added.
How South Africa collapsed in semi final?
After being put in to bat, South Africa laboured to 169/8 in their allotted 20 overs as Cole McConchie (2/9), Rachin Ravindra (2/29) and Matt Henry (2/34) dismantled their batting line-up. Only Marco Jansen (55* off 30) stood firm against the Kiwi bowling attack, striking two fours and five sixes during his innings.
In reply, New Zealand made a mockery of the chase, reaching the target in just 12.5 overs, with Finn Allen producing a record-breaking 33-ball century. Tim Seifert (58 off 33) and Allen (100* off 33) effectively decided the contest during the powerplay, sharing a massive 117-run partnership off just 55 balls.
While Seifert was dismissed for 58, Allen went on to register the fastest century in T20 World Cup history. As a result, New Zealand qualified for their second T20 World Cup final and will face the winner of the second semi-final between India and England in the showpiece clash on 8 March at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
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