South Africa’s captain, Aiden Markram, said he anticipated a formidable test from Nepal as they prepare for a match, even though they had already booked a place in the T20 World Cup Super Eight. Nepal almost greatly upset South Africa in their match held at Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, St Vincent. South Africa could manage only 115/7 while chasing the highest-ever T20 World Cup total, albeit they were nắmmeled by Nepalese spinners, with Kushal Bhurtel taking 4 wickets for 19 runs.
Nepal started their innings well, and their openers put 36 runs in the powerplay. However, they experienced a collapse when Tabraiz Shamsi came into attack and dismissed two Nepali batsmen in the eighth over. Aasif Sheikh and Anil Shah added another valuable 50 runs off only 36 balls to set the stage for the Nepalese chase. The last moments of the match had all the passion and fluctuation as the Nepalese were set 31 for victory from the last thirty-eight deliverances.
South Africa tried to consolidate its position by taking quick wickets, and Nepal tried to fight back and survive, needing twenty-one runs in the last over bowled by four bowlers. Shamsi then took two wickets in the 18th over to give South Africa a glimmer of hope, but Sompal Kami responded back with a 105m sheer hit of a six to bring Nepal back into the game. In the last over, bowler Gulsan Jha reduced the target to 2 runs in the remaining 2 balls.
However, the dream of achieving a historic win became a nightmare for Nepali players in the last over in the T20 World Cup. Ottneil Baartman had bowled a dot ball to set the stage for the climax, with 2 runs required in the last delivery. Two batsmen were nearly runout when the wicket-keeper, Quinton de Kock, threw the ball, which struck with Inder Gulshan, and Heinrich Klaasen was quick enough to ensure Gulshan was short of crease and thus lead to a Super Over.
However, in the telling and heartbreaking loss, Nepal’s captain, Rohit Paudel, was only complimentary of his team’s performance, emphasising their bowling and batting on the tough ground. He pointed out that the team had shown so much spirit, especially when they had failed to deliver when the going got tough, and thus, as a team, he noted that such circumstances could be used as a wake-up call to do a better job.
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