So, despite all the hype surrounding the South African team, they somewhat surprisingly lost to Sri Lanka in their Champions Trophy opener on Tuesday ? a loss that means the hosts have to beat New Zealand and England to ensure they advance to the semifinals.

Tuesday night's loss was, however, a welcome change from the regular progression of events the South African cricket team tends to follow at major international tournaments.

Apart from the 2003 World Cup during which they narrowly lost the opener to the West Indies, the Proteas have made a reputation for themselves of cruising through the initial stages, looking just about unbeatable, before failing miserably at the first genuine pressure situation.

Think back to the 1996 and '99 World Cups, as well as the 2007 and '09 World T20 Championships. The list goes on and on...

Unfairly or not, it is these losses that have created the 'chokers' tag the Proteas have been branded with over the last decade.

Nobody likes to see their team lose, but at least Tuesday night's loss came at a time when the Proteas could afford such a defeat.

In fact, there are several positives that could be drawn from the loss.

The final score might say Sri Lanka won by 55 runs, in truth, a loss by 155 runs would be a more accurate description; such was the disparity between the two sides.

Nothing like a humilating loss in front of your own supporters to bring you back down to earth though.

All the pre-tournament talk has been about how good a side South Africa is at the moment, and perhaps a the team started to believe their own hype. If that is the case, a defeat would have done the side a world of good.

Other than a warm-up game against a particularly weak West Indies side, the Proteas players have hardly played any competitive cricket for two months. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, come off a Test series as well as a triangular tournament including India and New Zealand, as well as playing an extra warm-up game to get used to South African conditions.

The Proteas were ring-rusty, Sri Lanka certainly were not. Also, consider this; would any team in the world have coped with Tillakaratne Dilshan's batting and Ajantha Mendis's wizardry with ball in hand?

The dominant Australian sides of the last decade or so have made a habit of playing at their best when the stakes are the highest. A loss in a relatively unimportant match would soon be forgotten after another victory in a key encounter ? remember the 1999 World Cup?

If South Africa wants to emulate those Australian sides of old ? and as far as I am concerned that is exactly the aim ? then this is the perfect opportunity for the Proteas to now show the world that they are indeed a force to be reckoned with.

And, a victory over New Zealand on Thursday is the perfect place to start rebuilding their reputation as the best side in the world.

  • Check out our Proteas player ratings from Tuesday's clash against the Lankans!

  • What do you think? Have the Proteas 'choked' once again or are they simply a bit slow out of the blocks ? for once? Leave your comment below!