South Africa all however secured their place within the Tremendous Eight quarter-final stage of the ICC Males’s Twenty20 World Cup after left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj held his nerve within the ultimate over to clinch a four-run win in opposition to Bangladesh in New York on Monday.
Chasing a modest goal of 114 of their Group D match on the unpredictable Nassau County Stadium pitch, Bangladesh got here agonizingly near their second win of the match however faltered within the ultimate over, shedding two wickets to Maharaj of their bid to cross the end line.
Maharaj started the final over with a large, adopted by a single and a two, earlier than dismissing Jaker Ali for eight, caught at long-on. A leg bye off the fourth ball stored the strain excessive, however Mahmudullah was additionally caught at long-on for 20 on the penultimate supply. Needing six off the final ball, Taskin Ahmed might solely handle a single, permitting South Africa to flee with their third consecutive win.
The standout bowler
Maharaj was the standout bowler for South Africa, ending with three for 27 from his 4 overs. Frontline pacers Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada additionally performed essential roles, taking two wickets every and holding the stress on the Bangladeshi batsmen with spells of two for 17 and two for 19, respectively.
The victory locations South Africa on the prime of the five-team group desk with six factors, making them the one crew to have accomplished three matches thus far. Bangladesh, with two factors from two matches, sit second attributable to a superior web run fee in comparison with the Netherlands, who even have two factors from two matches. Nepal and Sri Lanka are fourth and fifth, respectively, with no factors from their matches.
– Commercial –
A T20 World Cup file 79-run, fifth-wicket stand between Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller rescued South Africa from a precarious place and enabled them to put up 113 for six from their 20 overs. Klaasen top-scored with 46, incomes him the Participant-of-the-Match award, whereas Miller supported with 29. Their partnership helped South Africa recuperate from a top-order collapse triggered by pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib, who took three for 18 and had the Proteas reeling at 25 for 4 after the Energy Play.
Difficult circumstances
Reflecting on the difficult circumstances, Klaasen stated, “I feel all of the batters are eager to get out of this place, to be honest. The bowlers would love to remain right here. However, no, we’ve carried out our job – that was the aim – to win three out of three (in the US). Clearly, it was just a little bit tougher than we thought, however that’s additionally good preparation for going into the subsequent section of this competitors.”
Bangladesh’s Towhid Hridoy, who top-scored with 37, expressed his disappointment at not ending the match, saying, “Everyone knows this can be a barely tough (pitch). I feel each match might be a low-scoring sport. I feel now we have to adapt to the scenario as quickly as potential. We misplaced lots of confidence [in chasing] that rating… I ought to have completed the match. It’s troublesome for brand new batsmen to regulate to the circumstances.”
– Commercial –
Group D continues with Nepal and Sri Lanka trying to find their first win on Tuesday beneath the lights on the Broward County Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida. Bangladesh will face the Netherlands of their subsequent match on Thursday on the Arnos Vale Cricket Floor in St Vincent, whereas South Africa meets Nepal beneath the lights on Friday.
