India, Pakistan into T20 World Cup semis

India and Pakistan have advanced to the T20 World Cup semi-finals after South Africa crashed out in a shock 13-run defeat to the Netherlands on Sunday.

Victory in Adelaide would have secured the Proteas’ place in the final four regardless of other results, but they fell short of their 159 target on a sluggish pitch. That left Pakistan and Bangladesh to compete for a semi-final spot in the day’s second game at the same venue.

Pakistan prevailed by five wickets to complete a dramatic turnaround after losing the first two games in their Super 12s group. India later confirmed top spot with an emphatic victory over Zimbabwe in Melbourne, and will face England in the semi-finals while Pakistan take on Group 1 winners New Zealand.

South Africa’s shock defeat piles the pressure on their whiteball captain, Temba Bavuma, who said he will take time to consider his position in the next few weeks. “It’s been a tricky time,” he said after the game. “Whatever happens, I carry myself with dignity through all the good and bad times. If I were to leave, I would leave with my pride intact.” The Netherlands amassed 158 for four after being put in to bat first, with Tom Cooper’s quickfire 35 off 19 balls followed by Colin Ackermann’s unbeaten 41 off 26 deliveries. In response, Rilee Rossouw top-scored with just 25 off 19 balls as they stumbled to 145 for eight in 20 overs, bringing their campaign to an abrupt halt.

Bavuma was out for 20, taking his tournament tally to just 70 runs in five innings, and accepted the result would only add to South Africa’s reputation for choking in major tournaments. “I think it will always be there until we find ourselves in a situation where we get to a final and we come out on the right side of that result,” he said.

The defeat also signals a sudden end to Mark Boucher’s tenure as South Africa head coach, but he played down suggestions his team lost their nerve. “The more you don’t do well in World Cups, I think it does start playing in your head a bit, but] I don’t think that’s been the case of late. “We’ve played in some tight games in World Cups and actually won them. In the past we’ve tended to lose those games. We were never really in this game here, to be fair. On paper, we should have won the game but the game’s not played on paper, it’s actually played out there in the middle.”

With both sides now directly competing for a semi-final place, Bangladesh won the toss but were restricted to 127 for eight. Shaheen Shah Afridi took four for 22, with Najmul Hossain Shanto’s 54 off 48 balls keeping the Tigers in the hunt. Shakib Al Hasan was out for a duck, the third um