DUBAI: There is a saying in South Africa: hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie. The literal translation of this saying goes something like this - they don't know what we know.
This phrase was made famous by UFC champion Dricus du Plessis, and was turned into a song by Afrikaans pop sensation Kurt Darren, used as a mantra by the world Rugby champion Springboks, and is now a South African proverb.
Du Plessis even explained the emotions behind it earlier this year. "It’s a statement that even though we’re underdogs, even though we don’t have what all these big countries have… we have all these challenges (and) it doesn’t really matter.” It is as simple as that.
When South Africa faced Australia at the Dubai International Stadium in the first semifinal of the T20 World Cup, despite the absence of Alyssa Healy in the opposite dugout, they were underdogs. Of course, the hurt of not winning their first World Cup at home with the whole of Newlands Stadium backing them against the same opposition was there.
Even when they defeated Australia in the same format for the first time earlier this year in the bilateral series, it was probably not looked at by the women's cricket world as something groundbreaking. Certainly not by Australians who brushed it off as a one-off loss in the series. But again "hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie".
Their run to the semi-final was not flawless. A defeat against England came at the point where anything could have happened. One more loss could have led to Laura Wolvaardt's side not making it to the knockouts. Their fate was practically in the hands of the West Indies at one point.
The captain even admitted that. "And it was a bit weird being at training not knowing what we were training for," she had said before the semi-final. One look at confusion which later got converted to celebrations at the ICC Academy practice facilities was enough to know how relieved the South Africans were.
At the same time, the side they were facing in the semi-final was no ordinary one. Despite all the changes that happened around the Australian side over the last year or so, they were still the overwhelming favourites to win this World Cup.
And why wouldn't they be? With all the bases covered and then some, the defending champions had never lost a match in ICC tournament history for more than four and a half years and had taken home three ICC trophies. Two of them were away from home and without dropping a single match. That is the record anybody could be envious of or even intimidated by.
Speaking specifically about the match-up between South Africa and Australia, the Proteas had not beaten Australia ever in any of the previous eight editions. To say Australia were one step away from entering their eighth T20 World Cup final in a row was the easiest thing to do. But again "hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie".
As a team who keep wearing their emotions on their sleeves, it was easy to see what this occasion meant to the South Africans during the national anthem. Allrounder Marizanne Kapp had her eyes closed throughout the beautiful rendition played at the Dubai International Stadium while her bowling hand was clinching the Protea logo with all of the strength in her. Nadine de Klerk was the one putting a great battle against tears while youngster Annerie Dercksen was belting it out like a seasoned opera singer in her first-ever ICC knockout.
What followed was not something underdogs are supposed to do. South Africa sent Grace Harris back in just the second over of the day, Georgia Wareham's pre-tournament promising run at number three didn't work. McGrath came up the order with her team in deep trouble once again but never got going. Beth Mooney passed 3000 runs in the format, but couldn't accelerate through the middle overs which has been her strength.
Boundaries dried. Dot balls were piling up and anything the six-time World Cup champions tried was not working for them. Even when the likes of Ellyse Perry and Phoebe Litchfield tried to push the score, Australia restricted and how. Australia faced as many as 45 dot balls batting first, unheard for a side of that calibre, and could only manage 134/5 in 20 overs.
When it came to batting, Proteas did what the world has seen Australia do against each and every one of their opponent. Dominate in the powerplay, run between the wickets like your life is dependent on it, counter-attack through clean as as-a-whistle shots, put pressure on the opposition in such way that their dropped shoulders would give you even more motivation to finish the game off and relieve the opposition of their misery.
Australia have been doing it for the longest time and in the first semifinal, with Anneke Bosch and Wolvaardt hitting boundaries with disdain the tables were finally turned. The hunters became the hunted and the game was slipping right in from of their eyes.
Before Australia could cook some comeback plan like they have always done in the past, it was over. South Africa gave them no chance. Incredibly, it was Bosch who scored the winning runs when she went on one knee to smash a ball towards deep midwicket boundary.
The reign was over. After seven finals and six titles, Australians were stunned. "If we play our best cricket they are beatable," Wolvaardt had said in the pre-match press conference. Maybe she knew what we didn't at that time.
Revenge is a tall word to be used in the sporting contest. Here it was just a game of cricket, not a war. What South Africa did on a cool Thursday night at Dubai International Stadium was not revenge served cold because they probably did not feel the need to do it. They just announced to the world what du Plessis had done earlier.
That was the message for fellow South Africans: we might be one step away from ultimate glory but hey, hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie.