South Africa beat England by 10 runs in their final T20 World Cup group clash, handing Eoin Morgan's side their first defeat at the tournament after two outstanding innings from Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram and a hat-trick from Kagiso Rabada.
However, England's net run rate, which had been majorly boosted by their wins over the West Indies and Australia, ensured their qualification for the semi-finals.
South Africa needed to defeat England by a margin of around 60 runs in order to leapfrog Australia and also reach the knockouts, but they were unable to do so despite posting a hugely impressive total with the bat.
After winning the toss and deciding to bowl first, England once again turned to Moeen Ali to open the bowling, with the off-spinner viewed as an ideal match up against the left-handed Quinton de Kock.
However, De Kock was able to attack Moeen, hitting him for three boundaries and seeing off his quota of four overs.
Despite being unable to dismiss the dangerous De Kock, Moeen did pick up the wicket of Reeza Hendricks, bowling him for just two.
De Kock and Van der Dussen then shared an excellent partnership, reverse-sweeping England's spinners expertly and putting on 71.
Adil Rashid eventually made the breakthrough, forcing De Kock to play a false shot and getting him caught at long-on by Jason Roy for 34.
However, there was no let-up in the run scoring as Van der Dussen went on to blast his way to 94 not out, the highest knock by a South African in tournament history, and Markram struck a half-century off just 24 balls.
Together they put on 103 runs, taking 21 off a single over from Chris Woakes.
Markram's innings of 52 not out came at a seriously impressive strike rate of 208.00 while Van der Dussen's 94 came off just 60 balls, with the pair propelling South Africa to a total of 189-2.
Mark Wood, playing in his first game at the tournament after Tymal Mills suffered a thigh injury, was expensive and struggled to replicate Mills' effectiveness at the death as he went for 47 from his four overs.
In response, England needed to score 87 runs to secure their spot in the semi-finals, 106 runs to top the group, 132 runs to knock out South Africa and 190 to win the game.
Roy and Jos Buttler got England off to an absolute flier in their chase, before Roy suffered an injury that looks set to bring his World Cup to a premature end.
After setting off for a routine single, Roy pulled up no more than two strides into the run, hopping the rest of the way on his right leg.
Roy then collapsed on the ground and began to tear up, before expressing his frustration as the stump mic picked up several expletives.
He was retired hurt with a calf problem and replaced by Moeen Ali, with the injury signalling a major shift in the game's momentum.
England lost two big wickets in the next two overs, with Anrich Nortje dismissing Buttler for 26 and Tabraiz Shamsi getting Jonny Bairstow LBW for one.
Moeen and Dawid Malan then looked to steady the ship, seeing England past the 87 runs they needed to secure qualification for the semi-finals.
Moeen then looked to up the ante, smacking Markram for back-to-back boundaries and then launching Shamsi for a 102m six as England ensured they would top their group.
Shamsi dismissed Moeen the next ball, though, with the left-hander holing out on the boundary for an important 37 off 27 balls.
South Africa's captain Temba Bavuma then turned to his seamers in an attempt to spark a collapse and earn his side a semi-final spot.
However, their efforts ultimately came in vain as two monster sixes from Liam Livingstone, one of which was clocked at 112m making it the biggest of the tournament so far, took England past 132.
England did fail to go on and win the game, falling 11 runs short of their 190 target, but they remain one of the most impressive teams left in the tournament.
Malan fell for 33 to an excellent catch off Dwaine Pretorius and the same bowler also dismissed Livingstone, getting him caught on the boundary for 28.
Kagiso Rabada was able to defend 14 off the final over, picking up the wickets of Woakes, Morgan and Chris Jordan to end his tournament with a spectacular hat-trick.
