Aiden Markram and his South African side held their nerves to win one of the best matches of the T20 World Cup on Friday. Nepal crashed out of the tournament as they lost by one-run in St. Vincent to leave Rohit Paudel and his side heartbroken.
Needing 8 runs to win from 6 balls, Ottneil Baartman bowled two dot balls. This made it 8 runs needed off 4 balls, Gulshan Jha then hit as four and the next ball saw 2 runs being scored.
The equation was now down to 2 runs needed off 2 balls as Baartman held his cool to bowl a dot ball. With 2 runs needed off 1 ball, Baartman bowled a dot ball with Jha running down to the bowlers end. Quinton De Kock was quick to throw the ball to the bowlers end as Heinrich Klaasen threw the ball.
The ball deflected off Jha’s bat to hit the stumps and the batter was caught short of the crease. South Africans started to celebrate as soon as the third umpire found Jha short of his crease to signal an end to the game.
Tabraiz Shamsi turns savior for South Africa
Needing 116 to win, Nepal began well with Kushal Bhurtel and Asif Sheikh adding 35 runs for the first wicket. South African left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi changed the course of the game when he had Bhurtel and Rohit Paudel out in a space of 3 balls.
The veteran spinner wasn’t done though as he also got the dangerous Dipendra Singh Airee for 6. This was soon followed by the wicket of top scorer Asif Sheikh for 42 to give South Africa the momentum they needed.
At one stage Nepal needed 19 runs to win from 21 balls but the South African bowlers showed their experience. Marco Jansen and Anrich Nortje bowled beautifully to deny the Nepal batters a chance to steal the singles with their terrific fuller length deliveries.
Sompal Kami hit a huge six off Anrich Nortje and followed it up with 2 runs to take the match into the last over. With this win South Africa now have sealed the top spot in the Group D and knocked out Nepal.
The South African win also meant that Bangladesh have also qualified for the Super-8 stages as the second placed team in the group with one match left to play against Nepal.
Here’s how the fans reacted
Best back flick ever in cricket #SAvNEP
— Ishara (@Ishara23032) June 15, 2024
South Africa may have won the game but Nepal won hearts #SAvNEP
— Kathiyawadi (@Kathiyawadii) June 15, 2024
South Africa won all their group games and finished with a net run rate of 0.470.#SAvNEP #T20WorldCup
— CricBlog ✍ (@cric_blog) June 15, 2024
#Nepal and #USA can become the next #Afghanistan @icc should plan bilateral series for them! #SAvNEP
— Varun (@varunrgn) June 15, 2024
South Africa winning only by a single run against Nepal isn't something to ignore. Bangladesh will need to come with their A game if they wanna win against Nepal! #SAvNEP #T20WorldCup
— Ahmed Abu Yousuf (@ahmed_abuyousuf) June 15, 2024
What a game of cricket wow #SAvNEP great courage and temperament shown by the @ProteasMenCSA with this belief, this might just be the tournament
— Athi Msenge (@ati213msg) June 15, 2024
Nepal played really well against South Africa but unfortunately lost the match by just 1 run. They gave their best effort and came very close to winning. It's disappointing and sad to see them fall short like that 😞. #SAvNEP pic.twitter.com/SPUkypHnjX
— 100 NOT OUT (@100NotOutVK) June 15, 2024
#SAvNEP South Africa is riding on a massive luck besides the whole bunch of talented players. Won all the games by close margins.
— Pavan Arasada (@arasadapawan3) June 15, 2024