The Proteas needed to beat the Netherlands to secure a semi-final spot but were beaten by 13 runs at the Adelaide Oval
South Africa head coach Mark Boucher admitted his team "were never really in this game" as he expressed his disappointment at his team's shock exit from the T20 World Cup.
The Proteas needed to beat the Netherlands to secure a semi-final spot but were beaten by 13 runs at the Adelaide Oval.
The result was another upset in a competition that has regularly produced surprises but adds another dismal chapter to South Africa's tricky relationship with World Cups. They were among the tournament favourites, while the Netherlands were the lowest-ranked members of the Super 12 phase.
"We were never really in this game today," said Boucher.
"I know there's a lot of history behind South African cricket and World Cups, but the last World Cup I thought we played some very good cricket. We lost one game and were knocked out."
He added: "I think the more you don't do well in World Cups, I think it does start playing in your head a bit."
The defeat was Mark Boucher's final game in charge (Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
A win for South Africa would have guaranteed them a place in the semi-finals, a position they had set up with convincing wins over India and Bangladesh. But they faltered against Pakistan, which meant they had to beat a Dutch side with South Africans Ryan Cook and Gary Kirsten in their ranks.
"If you would have said to us, we've got Netherlands to play to get into a semi-final and we've got to beat them, we would have taken that at the start of the tournament," said Boucher, for whom this was the final game in charge of the national team. "These things happen. It's not the only upset that's happened in the tournament.
"We deserved to be better in this tournament as a squad, but it didn't happen."
Pakistan benefited from South Africa's slip-up, easing past Bangladesh to qualify for the semi-finals – an outcome that looked a long way off when Babar Azam's side were beaten by Zimbabwe a week ago.
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