South Africa vs Nepal 2024 T20 WC Match Report: South Africa defeated Nepal by 1 run in Match 31 of the 2024 T20 World Cup in what was the most thrilling last-ball finish in this tournament. South Africa has finished the group stage of this competition with four wins out of four.
The Group C contest was played in the Arnos Vale Stadium in Kingstown, St Vincent, and saw Nepal win the toss and choose to bowl first.
South Africa vs Nepal 2024 T20 WC Match Report
This looked like an incorrect decision in the beginning. Yes, South Africa lost Quinton de Kock in the fourth over due to a catch bowled by Dipendra Singh Airee, but the second-wicket partnership between Reeza Hendricks and Aiden Markram took the team deep into the inning.
For all this time, South Africa played at a run-a-ball pace. So when Markram was bowled by leg-spinning all-rounder Kushal Bhurtel in the 12th over, the team was at 68/2.
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Hendricks and South Africa should have started to accelerate the inning from here but they instead started collapsing. In the next six overs or so, not only did the Proteas score about 30 runs, but they also lost their middle order as Heinrich Klaasen, Hendricks, and David Miller lost their wickets.
At the start of the 20th over, South Africa was at 106/5 and Tristan Stubbs hit a massive six. Having managed to score nine runs in the over and losing two more wickets in the final two balls, the African side finished their inning at 115/7.
Nepal’s chase got off to a slow but steady start. While Kagiso Rabada did drop Asif Sheikh’s catch in the second over, Nepal’s opening duo of Sheikh and Kushal Bhurtal gave their team a decent start.
When Bhurtel; was bowled by Tabraiz Shamsi in the eighth over, Nepa; was at 35. But then, in the very same over captain Rohit Paudel was bowled as well.
A steady partnership for the third wicket then shaped up between Sheikh and Anil Kumar Sah, but Nepal just couldn’t find some acceleration that would take them over the line. So for throughout their inning from here, they were just behind the required run rate.
In the 19th over, after Kushal Malla was dismissed, Nepal was at 100/6. Somap Kami then came to the strike and hit what might be the biggest six of this tournament.
As we entered the final over of the game, the score was 108/6 and Nepal needed eight runs to win. The first two balls from Ottneil Baartman to Gulshan Jha were dot balls. But the 18-year-old Jha, who is a medium-pace bowler, hit a four on the third ball of the over to keep his team in play.
The fourth ball was chipped away from a double and Nepal now needed two runs in two deliveries. The fifth ball is bowled short and is not connected, a dot ball.
Final ball, two requires, Baartman bowls yet another short ball that is missed, and the batter run either way. Wicketkeeper de Kock throws it at the non-striker’s wicket but the ball hits the runner who is running in the middle of the pitch (which could have been given as obstructing the field. But the ball ricocheted to the hands of Heinrich Klassen, who did not miss his throw and ran Gulshan out. Thus, South Africa won the game by 1 run.
For his excellent spell of 4/19 which helped in the Nepal batting collapse in the first place, leggie Tabraiz Shamsi was named the Player of the Match.
As for South Africa, they have topped Group D of the 2024 T20 World Cup after having won all their four games, and will now play their next game in the Super 8. But aside from their opening game win against Sri Lanka, the RPoteas did not look too convincing in any of their victories in this tournament.
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