It was a reality check for the high flyers, and another major upset for underdogs and neutrals to revel in, as South Africa was comprehensively beaten by the Netherlands on Tuesday at the ICC Cricket World Cup.
Some showers early on in Dharamsala led to a delayed start and reduced the over count to 43 per side. Once the action got underway, Temba Bavuma opted to chase, citing that defending a total may be difficult given the conditions.
The end result was far from what the Proteas captain, and the cricketing world, would have predicted.
It was a good start for South Africa as the Dutch openers fell early, but the final hour of the first innings belonged entirely to the orange army.
Scott Edwards was the star, leading from the front to take his side from 82/5 to a convincing total of 245/8.
The bowlers did even better, chipping in at just the right moments to ensure an in-form Proteas batting order were left scratching their heads.
Besides David Miller (43), no South African crossed the 30 run mark, with Johannesburg-born Roelof van der Merwe among the Dutch bowlers to assert control over the game.
The Proteas could only amass 207 before being bowled out, losing by 38 runs. They next take on England in Mumbai on Saturday.
In Wednesday's action, unbeaten New Zealand face an Afghanistan side fresh off the back of an historic win against England.
