Nepal came within a whisker of pulling off one of cricket’s biggest upsets, falling one run short due to a final-ball run out
South Africa have survived an almighty scare, edging lesser lights Nepal by one run to keep their unbeaten run intact in a T20 World Cup thriller in St Vincent.
The world’s 18th-ranked T20 international side, Nepal, were eyeing their first win over a Test playing nation when Gulshan Jha crashed Ottniel Baartman for four over cover to reduce the equation to four off three balls.
But with two runs needed from the final delivery for a historic victory, Jha failed to lay bat on Baartman’s bouncer and was bizarrely run out at the non-striker’s end attempting a match-tying bye when wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock’s throw ricocheted off his back to Heinrich Klaasen who threw down the stumps before he could get his bat in the crease.
It was a heartbreaking finish for a brave Nepal outfit that came within a whisker of pulling off one of international cricket’s biggest upsets.
While South Africa had already qualified for the Super Eight with victories over Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Bangladesh in their first three matches, the result confirms Nepal’s campaign will end in the first round and they now face Bangladesh in their final Group D match on Sunday.
A win in that match would see Bangladesh through to Group 1 where India, Australia and Afghanistan await, while a victory for Nepal would open the door for the Netherlands to sneak in if they beat Sri Lanka in their final match.
“I’m very proud of the unit, especially the way we bowled and batted,” Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel said post-match.
“We were very close … the way we fought was very good, this exposure (to a top-level team), if we regularly play, next game we will be on the other side.”
Having inserted the Proteas on a tricky surface at the Arnos Vale Ground, a disciplined Nepal attack held South Africa’s powerful batting unit to 7-115 from their 20 overs.
Their top order batters then held their own against South Africa’s fearsome pace attack, with only the introduction of left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (4-19) halting their progress.
Nepal had cruised to 3-99 with opener Aasif Sheikh anchoring the chase with 42 off 49, but Shamsi’s double-strike in the 18th over set up a nail-biting finale.
“Obviously very grateful to have got the win, I don’t think we were anywhere near our best tonight and for large parts of the game we probably thought we wouldn’t be on the right side of the result,” Proteas captain Aiden Markram said.
“Very grateful to get the victory but I imagine reflecting back on the game over the next couple of days there will be a lot of learnings for us.
“The way they bowled, they made it really tough for us throughout the game. You have to give them a lot of credit, they put us under a lot of pressure, and it shows the quality they have in their changeroom.”
Kushal Bhurtel (4-19) did the damage with the ball as South Africa’s middle-order faltered, only managing 58 runs from the second 10 overs of their innings. It was however the Proteas highest total so far for the tournament after playing their first three matches on an equally as tough New York pitch.
Dipendra Singh Airee (3-21) also took three wickets after taking the new ball as spin claimed 12 of the 14 wickets for the match.
Recalled leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane went wicketless however in his first match of the tournament after his visa into the United States was denied for Nepal’s opening two T20 World Cup matches.
For the full list of fixtures click here. All matches live and exclusive on Prime Video. Sign up here for a 30-day free trial