Du Plessis and De Villiers went for a suicidal single, the latter was run out, before Du Plessis was involved in another comical run out, which had David Miller walking back to the dressing room early.
He has shown signs of improvement ever since he first donned the Indian colours and was the Man of the Man in India's decisive 8-wicket victory against South Africa on Sunday (June 11).
They also had AB De Villiers, the most unsafe batsman in the world, when in form. Amidst this, he announced his eagerness to continue with the captain's role as he believes he is a "good captain". And I can take this team forward.
"I can take us to win a World Cup, I believe", De Villiers told a news conference. And I believed the same thing in this tournament and the last one.
"As a team, we are always like that, and I love that tag always".
Smith opened up on his team's form and current performance and said the Proteas missed the spark in the prestigious tournament. "Tournaments are a little bit different". Three days later, at the same venue and a different opposition saw the bowlers put in a superlative performance.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez said the "win or go home" nature of the match would help Pakistan maintain their "crystal clear" focus in what will be the only Group B match at Cardiff. That sort of mindset is really helping all of us to come together as a unit and make things happen.
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Cricket South Africa selector Linda Zondi said: "I would like to thank Farhaan Behardien for leading the side so ably in the recent series against Sri Lanka". I said if you want to york people, do that.
De Villiers, who was run-out in the crucial match, blamed the poor batting performance for the loss. "India played the game with more intensity, it took more risks and stuck to its method and game formula far better than the South Africa team", he explained.
"We felt we had a great chance".
On whether the Proteas need changes after this misadventure... So we will have to wait and see what people out there want to decide or whoever is in control of making that kind of decisions.
Outsiders Pakistan are banking on their unpredictability playing its part as they vie for the right to reach the Champions Trophy semi-finals. For that reason, perhaps, de Villiers does not think that they getting further away from eventually winning an event.
"It is very hard to sell it on this kind of performance but that is what I believe in". The 33-year-old had a forgettable tournament where he scored just 20 runs from three matches.
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