Time. Something that can belong exclusively to some people even while being the presence of everyone else. This time, it was supposed to be South Africa's.
Although Brendon McCullum described New Zealand's unbeaten run - a feat matched only by India in this tournament - as the "greatest time of our lives," things seemed to be happening at the right time for South Africa too. They came out of two losses in the group stage to own their quarter-final the way no team has owned a knockout match in World Cups before - theirs was over in the shortest time - and they seemed to be identifying the right times to do the same in this match.
Just as the time came where they would normally fall apart, South Africa held on. This time, it looked different.
They were 21 for 1 when Faf du Plessis walked to the crease and 43 for 2 after Matt Henry, the outside pick who had only played eight internationals before this one, bowled a second successive maiden. Pressure was building, Henry was growing in confidence, so much so that he was willing to mock-throw the ball back to du Plessis after it was defended back to him.
Four years ago, in the quarter-final against New Zealand in Dhaka, du Plessis retaliated. There were times when he was even the one doing the provoking. Four years later, he was just patient. He took the sagely stroll to the square leg umpire that he has perfected in Test cricket and composed himself. He carried on.
It took him 51 balls to get 25 runs and South Africa until the 25th over to get 100. The going was heavy but du Plessis showed himself a great weight-lifter in matches gone by. Even in limited-overs. They were waiting for the time when they could counterattack later on and they had their arsenal waiting. But the later on, never really came.
Seven of the overs South Africa would have used to accelerate were washed away and they made the most of the five they had left. The time that got taken out of the game was not an excuse. "We adapted after that," AB de Villiers said. "I felt it was enough."
He was not alone in that. A chase just shy of 300 runs had never been successfully completed in a World Cup knockout before but there is, as they say, a first time for everything. That's the kind of sentiment New Zealand have spent this campaign riding on. Their feel-good advertisement with the beaming image of McCullum, bat slung over one shoulder, voice lilting as he urges them to "Dream big," has become catchy. Big time. This time McCullum heeded his own words.
His time at the crease was aimed at reducing the required run-rate as quickly as he could and he did that. Four years ago, South Africa would not have known how to stop the bleeding. They would not have been brave enough to turn to a spinner. Four years later, they went straight to Imran Tahir. He delivered a maiden over, which flummoxed Martin Guptill and frustrated McCullum. With the first ball of the next over, McCullum was gone.
Morne Morkel's time seemed to have finally come. The gentle giant has been South Africa's quickest and most consistent paceman over the last 18 months. He was also the most pumped up at their official send-off. Morkel is usually a social media mouse, but at that event he posted a selfie facing the thousand-strong crowd with a thank-you note. He wanted them to know how much the World Cup meant to him, especially as it is likely his last. Morkel had been frank with the media beforehand and told them that, at 30 now and 34 in 2019, he was unlikely to make it to another major tournament. He would not be the only one thinking that way. He was also not the only one in tears afterwards.
But before South Africa's time ran out, they came into their own. Four years ago, under pressure, they seemed to lose their heads. Four years later, they put them together. De Villiers held counsel with Hashim Amla and du Plessis after almost every ball, particularly the first over Vernon Philander delivered, as they tried to work out a way to stop New Zealand's clock.
Philander was a curious pick for the match anyway because he had been carrying an injury through the tournament. He strained a hamstring a month ago against the India at the MCG and recovered only to relapse twice. Kyle Abbott was an emergency replacement for Philander against Pakistan, at this very ground, and then again in the quarter-final. Despite Abbott's strong performances, Philander was always expected to come back into the squad if he was fit enough. Not necessarily fit. Just fit enough.
Enough. The same word de Villiers used to describe what he thought about the number of runs South Africa had. Enough was not enough then. Questions will be asked about whether enough is enough over Philander's fitness but they would be misplaced. Philander was South Africa's most economical seamer of the day. He was managed well - taken off after an opening over in which he got slammed, only given eight overs, and substituted in the field when South Africa though they needed more agility - but it was not his fault.
It was not anyone's fault. Fault does not come into this. But no-one can explain what does? Fate? Maybe.
Fourteen years ago, Grant Elliott was an ordinary Jo'burg boy looking for his big chance. He came all the way to New Zealand to do it and now he calls this place home. No-one can begrudge him that. But did he have to show how much his new home means to him against his old home?
Elliott was gracious as a victor can be to the vanquished. After he hit the winning runs, he was at Dale Steyn's side before any of the South Africans. Afterwards he said he felt "compassion" towards his former countrymen as he wrestled with the joy he felt within himself. He broke then tension about conflicting emotions when he revealed he will miss his sister's wedding at the weekend to play in the final but will try to "give her a very nice gift".
That was not what he gave South Africa. Instead, he broke their hearts. He undid all Tahir's hard work, the time he had spent throughout this tournament turning around the South African spin mindset. He undid all the committed fielding when the usually sharp South Africans put him down, first when a ball fell between three of them, then when JP Duminy almost took out Farhaan Behardien trying to catch one on the rope. Then he undid their best bowler, Steyn, in a way few batsmen ever do.
It was Elliott's time. Not South Africa's. But they will leave this tournament wondering when that will ever change. Maybe next time.