Sikandar Raza wasn't happy with himself. He muttered darkly from the middle to the boundary, and beyond, after trying to hammer Kwena Maphaka through midwicket and skewing a leading edge high into the sky above the off side. After what seemed an age, the ball descended into David Miller's waiting hands.

Raza's 73 off 43, more than three-quarters of them launched in fours and sixes, was Zimbabwe's best hope of posting a challenging total in their T20 World Cup Super Eights match against South Africa at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday.

His dismissal, in the 17th, snuffed out that hope. The Zimbabweans made 153/7, which South Africa overhauled with five wickets standing and 13 balls remaining. There was little riding on the match - by the time it started the South Africans knew they were in the semifinals and Zimbabwe knew it was their last game of the tournament.

After Tristan Stubbs took two to square leg off Blessing Muzarabani to seal the result, the Zimbabweans moved to a corner of the outfield in front of the Gautam Gambhir Stand to the north of the ground to thank their small but vociferous gaggle of travelling supporters.

The fans, who are called the Castle Corner supporters because that's where they sit at Harare Sports Club, earned more than their fair share of attention for shouting - and dancing and singing - for their team for all their worth. Their passion was rewarded with victories over Australia and Sri Lanka, and a place in the Super Eights - in which, sadly, they lost all three of their matches.

Raza couldn't go with his players to salute their supporters because, as his team's captain, he was detained by the host broadcaster. By the time his interview on the southern boundary was over, the other Zimbabwean players had bid the fans farewell.

And then a beautiful thing happened.

Raza, all on his own, without someone needing to tell him to do it, ran all the way to where the supporters were and paid them due tribute. For a long moment, he stood and waved and accepted the love. The fans deserved nothing less. They certainly wouldn't have deserved a captain still grumpy about the consequences of a false stroke. Happily, he got over himself in time to do the right thing.

"We have a personal relation with the Castle Corner fans," Raza said. "We know each member by name. We know their families, their kids, and everything. They are not just fans for us, they are pretty much part of our family. I want to say to them, 'You're the champions of Zimbabwe for the support you guys have shown us, and the respect.'"

Respect. Zimbabwe's team and their fans earned theirs in the best way, and with it legions of new supporters from countries far beyond their borders. Their team lost on Sunday, but they weren't beaten. Their supporters were a credit to the tournament and the game itself, and their captain showed his class as a human being when he recognised that truth by turning up when it mattered.

Sikandar Raza wasn't happy with himself when he got out. But he can be more than happy with the way he said goodbye to an important part of his Zimbabwean family.