South Africa captain AB de Villiers has admitted that he and his teammates are "hurting" after losing to New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup semi-finals.
The Proteas suffered a dramatic four-wicket defeat in Auckland on Tuesday as the co-hosts snatched victory in the final over.
Despite being on the wrong end of the result, De Villiers insists that his side gave everything during the match.
"It was an amazing game," he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport. "I couldn't ask for anything more. We're hurting over this. We play for the people back home, hopefully the passion we showed made a difference and that people can still be proud of us, even though we have lost tonight.
"There have been some wonderful performances. We had a wonderful thing going. We are a unit, but the unit came unstuck today. There have been very good individual performances throughout the tournament. To the teams in the final, all the best for whoever wins."
New Zealand will take on either Australia or defending champions India in the Cricket World Cup final.
