South Africa (115/7) defeated Nepal (114/7) in a breathtaking final ball thriller to clinch victory by 1 run in the 31st match of ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Nepal restricted South Africa to a low total of 115 runs after Kushal Bhurtel (4/19) terrorized batters. In return, Nepal came close but couldn’t cross the line as Tabraiz Shamsi (4/19) took South Africa home.
Having won the toss, Nepal elected to bowl first, which turned out to be a perfect decision. South Africa struggled throughout and could only score 115 runs even after Reeza Hendricks (43/49) and Tristan Stubbs (27/18) protected the fort. It was a tough pitch to bat on, and only Stubbs could manage to score runs with a 100 strike rate, which tells the story.
Group D Standing
Nepal started the chase brightly, as their openers added 36 for the first wicket before Shamsi struck twice in the 8th over. Despite this, Nepal didn’t lose the spirit as Aasif Sheikh (42/49) and Anil Shah (27/24) stood tall. Both took the game close with only 2 runs needed off the last 2 balls but Ottneil Baartman (0/20) pulled off a miracle over to take South Africa home.
It was Tabraiz Shamsi’s brilliance which took South Africa home but they need to tighten their screws in batting for Super 8. Despite winning all four games, their batsmen need a serious overhaul. Despite a losing game, Nepal can be proud of themselves and build their confidence for the next one.
Here are five moments that shaped the outcome-
Hendricks and Markram’s resurgence
South Africa’s batting line-up has struggled poorly this T20 World Cup and was also on display against Nepal. However, if we look back, their situation could’ve been even worse if Reeza Hendricks and Aiden Markram (15/22) didn’t rescue them early on. Nepal struck early with the wicket of Quinton de Kock (10/11) and looked all over South Africa. However, Aiden Markram and Reeza Hendricks stood tall and stitched a good partnership of 46 runs. Considering South Africa only managed to score 115 runs, their partnership is surely one of the main reasons behind their win. 
Tristan Stubbs’ finish
South Africa suffered a big collapse in the middle overs and looked in serious danger of not touching par scores. Big names like Heinrich Klaasen (3/5) and David Miller (7/10) fell into the trap of Nepal, but Tristan Stubbs rose to the occasion and helped South Africa reach a respectable total of 115 runs. On a pitch where no South African batsman touched 100 strike rate, Stubbs scored at 150 strike rate.
Shamsi Breaks Nepal’s Early Momentum
Nepal looked in a serious mood in the chase with a perfect start as they reached 35 runs without any loss in 7 overs in a small chase of 116. As South Africa’s future started looking dark, Markram called his X-factor. Tabraiz Shamsi came into action and instantly made two breakthroughs. Shamsi cleaned up opening batter Kushal Bhurtel (13/21) and number three Rohit Paudel (0/2) in just three deliveries to lead South Africa back into the game.
Shamsi’s game-changing over
Nepal only needed 18 runs from 18 balls with 7 wickets in hand. They looked all set to pull off one of the iconic upsets of the T20 World Cup, but Shamsi came in their way. The chinaman bowled a game-changing over where he only picked 2 wickets but conceded only 2 runs to shift the match into South Africa’s way.
The Saviour Baartman
South Africa had only 8 runs to defend in the final over, and the equation was trimmed to just 2 runs from 2 balls. Everything indicated that Nepal would register an iconic win, but Ottneil Baartman rose to the occasion. The 31-year-old pacer used all his experience to win the match for South Africa. He executed an inch-perfect slow bouncer on the last ball, which no one saw coming. Baartman saved South Africa from big humiliation and surely has inked his name into history for South Africa.
South Africa somehow held their nerves to win a thriller. They won all games in the group stage but would be disappointed with their batters’ form. Batters struggled in every game, which can be a big issue for them now. They will face West Indies in the first Super 8 on 24 June. Nepal, on the other hand, would be proud of their performance but would be disappointed to not win the game after coming too close. They will face Bangladesh on 17 May.
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