The Proteas need to beat their unfancied opponents for a semi finals berth. They lose by 13 runs to go out. This allows Pakistan to move on with India
South Africa’s Anrich nortje and Kagiso Rabada congratulate the Netherlands after their T20 World Cup
It was supposed to be a Sunday morning walk for South Africa. It was a simple equation: beat the Netherlands to qualify for the semi-finals at the T20 World Cup. South Africa suffered another nightmare in an ICC tournament and lost out to holders Australia. The Dutch won 158/4, restricting South Africa’s score to 145/8. There was no warning that the team they considered the best-suited for the conditions and most experienced to win their first title. Three of South Africa’s pacers, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Racbada, and Lungi Naidi, went wicketless before their batters gave in. Pakistan had no chance of qualifying as India was expected to beat Zimbabwe. South Africa’s loss turned the second match at Adelaide between Pakistani and Bangladesh into a virtual knockout tie. India won the match by five wickets to reach Group 2. “It (chokers) will always remain until we find ourselves at a final and we come out on the right side or a result,” South Africa skipper Temba Bvuma, who had struggled through the tournament, said. “Everything was in our control. We had the confidence and the belief. We had the form behind. He said that when it was important, we couldn’t do business.” India (8 points) and Pakistan (6 points) won, with South Africa (5th).
Coach Mark Boucher blamed collective failure. It’s not the only upset in the tournament. There were some very strong sides that were beaten in the tournament by the so-called less developed countries. Although we didn’t bowl as well as we should, we didn’t bat the way I thought we should. Although the total was a bit higher than we expected, it was still one that our batting unit could have chased. We deserved better as a team, but it didn’t happen. “South Africa chose to bowl in the hope that their lethal pace unit would make early inroads, and set up the game. They came up cold and the Netherlands scored 158 runs. Part-timer Aiden Markram was the only one to score. South Africa were expected with their firepower to manage the total but they lost wickets frequently to lose by 13 runs. Quinton de Kock (13) couldn’t give them a typical rapid start. Rilee Rossouw (25), failed to turn his innings into something like his century against Bangladesh.
Aiden Markram (17), and David Miller (17), were not as focused as they were when guiding the team to victory against India with half-centuries. South Africa was in control of their destiny, but they lost it. They nearly beat Zimbabwe before the rain-curtailed match was cancelled. However, victories over Bangladesh (and India) made them favourites for the knockouts. They had already lost to Pakistan. Pakistan made a contrastive progress. It almost seemed like the tournament was over after they lost to Zimbabwe and India. They started with defeats against Zimbabwe and India, and it almost seemed like their tournament was over. But, three consecutive wins, based mostly on impressive individual performances, saw them cross the line. Bangladesh was bowled by Pakistani bowlers who kept them at 127/8, and after the latter missed a few chances, they were able to score 128/5 in 18.1 innings. Pakistan will face New Zealand and India will take on England in the semi-finals.Pakistan’s victory on Sunday meant the Netherlands gained direct entry to the 2024 edition as they finished fourth in the group due to a better run-rate than Bangladesh.Having got a fresh lease of life, Pakistan were on the ball throughout. Their bowlers gave a stellar performance. Shaheen Shah Afridi proved that he is in top form and the Bangladesh bats could not handle him. The left-arm fast bowler, Shaheen Shah Afridi, returned a brilliant 4/22 and only Najmul Shanto (54-48b, 7×4) was able to make his start. Openers Mohammad Rizwan (32) & Babar Azam (25) put together a 57-run partnership that was their best of the tournament. Although there were some ups and downs, Bangladesh won the final match with a 57-run partnership. Later, Mohammad Haris (31) & Shan Masood (24) kept the scoreboard ticking to guide Pakistan towards victory.