Top 5 moments in ODI World Cup history

2. Allan Donald’s run-out in 1999 World Cup semi-final against Australia

South Africa have produced some outrageously talented cricketers through the years and have been one of the powerhouses in ODI cricket. But the Proteas have been blighted by misfortune in ICC events, whether it is the agonising 1992 World Cup semi-final loss to England on grounds of baffling rules for bad weather, or the 2003 WC clash against Sri Lanka that saw them bow out of the tournament via Duckworth-Lewis method.

In the above-mentioned incidents, the rules worked against the Proteas, but in the 1999 WC semi-final clash against Australia, they had no one else to blame. Chasing Australia’s 213, The Proteas were pushed on the backfoot after the magical Shane Warne dismissed four of their top five batters. But Lance Klusener was striking the ball as a man possessed, and with nine runs needed off the final over with nine wickets down, Klusener hit Damien Fleming for consecutive boundaries on the first two deliveries.

The match was seemingly over with the scores lever and South Africa needing just one run to make it to their first final in WC history, but that’s when chaos ensued as an inexplicable decision from Alan Donald, the non-striker, in an attempt to complete a non-existent single, saw both the batters stranded at one end and Donald was run out to the jubilation of the Aussies who snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Australia made it to the finals as they had defeated their opponents earlier in the tournament in the group stages, a match they would have lost had South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs held onto the infamous dropped catch of Steve Waugh.