Know Why South Africa Called Chokers

The term “choke” in sports, as defined by dictionary.cambridge.org, means “to fail to do something at a time when it is urgent, usually because you suddenly lose confidence.”
When this word began trending on social media on Sunday morning, many likely assumed that South Africa had faltered in a critical moment. And they did: in a game against the Netherlands, where South Africa was expected to dominate and secure a spot in the semi-finals, they lived up to their unfortunate reputation as perennial chokers. They lost by 13 runs in Adelaide and were eliminated. By the Netherlands.
But when did the South African cricket team first earn the label of “chokers,” and why has it stuck with them?
The origin of this infamous tag dates back to the 1999 World Cup semi-final against Australia. The South Africa team was chasing a 214-run target in the match, but they found it difficult to form stable partnerships despite valiant knocks from Jacques Kallis (53) and Jonty Rhodes (43). However, an explosive 31 from Lance Klusener, further 16 balls, edged them closer to victory. However, with only one run needed off three balls and a wicket remaining, Allan Donald had run out already sealed their doom. Australia managed to go through final based on their better performance than Super Six stage.
This was where South Africa's struggle began in successive ICC tournaments on the big stage.
The DLS method was utilized in that 2003 World Cup match in South Africa. The tournament was held in South Africa and involved South African players going against their Lankan opponents in order to remain in the competition. Unfortunately, the DLS target was misunderstood by the South African batters and, as a result, they were knocked out for lacking an advancing score.
That is what took place in the 2011 World Cup Quarterfinal when the New Zealand bowlers left chasing a competitive target set up thanks to the heroic bowling of New Zealand. South Africa did not have AB de Villiers or Jacques Kallis that day who were capable of escaping any adverse pressure.
2015 World Cup Semi-Final again saw a dismal failure by South African team in the grand event despite fielding a star-studded team comprising names such as AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, and Hashim Amla.
South Africa’s woes extended to T20 World Cups as well. In the inaugural edition in 2007, playing at home, they failed to chase a par score against India in a must-win game. In the 2014 T20 World Cup semi-final, India once again knocked them out.
The most recent instance of such misery occurred when South Africa narrowly, by a single run, missed the cut for the semi-finals, deemed unenviable despite tying two points with England and Australia because of being comprehensively beaten on net run-rate.
The latter installation of inferiority finished in Adelaide, the knockout for South Africa when they lost the Netherlands by 13 runs, bringing one of their many catalog of agonising collapses under huge strains.