Hamilton, Feb 15 (IANS): Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura Sunday said losing important wickets at the wrong time while chasing led to their 62-run loss against South Africa in a World Cup group encounter here Sunday.

Zimbabwe gave a good account of themselves chasing 339 for four and once raised the prospect of an upset win reaching 214 for three in 36 overs. But they suffered a late batting order collapse and were ultimately bowled out for 277 in 48.2 overs.

"We lost wickets at the wrong time. (Chamu) Chibhabha and (Hamilton) Masakadza played well. But we kept losing wickets after that and ended up under pressure,” said Chigumbura at the post-match presentation ceremony.

The 28-year-old also said that his bowlers conceded too many runs in the slog overs, which made the task of the batsmen tougher.

"Our bowlers gave us the right start we needed, but we went for two much towards the end, the last three overs. We did not get wickets in the middle overs and had to pay the price in the end," he added.