T20 World Cup 2024: SA vs NED – Who said What?

NED vs SA (Source: X (Twitter))

South Africa (RSA) took on Netherlands (NED) in Match 16 of the T20 World Cup 2024, at the Nassau County Stadium in New York, on (Saturday) June 8. South Africa won the toss and opted to bowl first. Netherlands lost their top three batters within five overs. Apart from Sybrand Engelbrecht and Bas de Leede, no other batter crossed the 20-run mark. The duo scored 40 and 23 respectively as Netherlands huffed and puffed their way to 103 for nine in 20 overs.

Chasing the gettable target of 104, South Africa were shown a glimpse of the previous upset at the hands of Netherlands. The top four batters of the Proteas were sent back to the pavilion inside five overs with just 12 runs on the board. Tristan Stubbs and David Miller forged a much-needed 65-run partnership for the fifth wicket. On the back of the duo’s 33 and 59* runs, respectively, the Proteas reached the target with seven balls to spare with the lower order doing the job.

Talking Points

1. A mix-up costs Quinton de Kock his wicket

On the very first ball of South Africa’s chase, Reeza Hendricks and Quinton de Kock were involved in a terrible mix-up. Vivian Kingma bowled a fuller delivery to Reeza and the ball reached short fine off his pads. Reeza invited Kock for a single and refrained, he then showed his willingness to complete the run and aborted. De Kock was halfway down the pitch and Paul van Meekeren did the job and Kingma caught him short of the crease.

2. Ottneil Baartman picks three in the final over

Pacer Ottneil Baartman leveraged the desperation of Netherlands batters showed in the final over for a late flourish. Bowling the 20th over of the T20 World Cup 2024 game, he picked the set Sybrand on the very first ball and Tim Pringle holed out towards the short mid-wicket. He conceded just one run on the fourth ball and pocketed another set batter Logan van Beek on the final delivery.

3. David Miller took the game deep and finished in style

During the run chase, after having lost the top order, South Africa were staring down the barrel for yet another upset at the hands of the Dutch side. However, the veteran batter David Miller showed his experience and composure to take the game deep and then smacked 18 runs off Logan van Beek to guide his side to a victory in a thriller.

Who Said What?

Losing skipper, Scott Edwards:

In a score of 100 it changed the game, credit to South Africa they bowled well, credit to their batters how they batted in the end. Probably hard to tell. We were just getting an understanding of the slow outfield and the way that wicket played. I think we think we pride ourselves playing in tournament cricket, we find our ways of playing in such games. I back our guys, it was a tough wicket to start.

Winning skipper, Aiden Markram:

It was nerve-racking. Got to give credit to them and also credit to us upfront (with the ball.) It’s a game of a cricket, they (Netherlands) have proved that they can beat best teams. They have beaten us twice (in ICC tournaments), not a mental block or something. The game of cricket makes it a bit tricky. We are moving forward as a squad. Sometimes the wins are going to be convincing. To squeeze a win out of that situation, it’s good for the team environment. If compared to the first game, I think the wicket played well today. It was better than the first game. We have been good in the field and with the ball. We need to get some confidence while batting, especially while batting at the top.

Player of the Match, David Miller:

Whole lot better now (how’s the heart?). It was a good finish in the end. Wicket played a bit better than the first game but it was still going around. Credit to the Netherlands guys who hit their areas well. Wanted to tick over the scoreboard as much as we can. Can’t go into a shell. They made it difficult for us to score. We just tried to ground it out as much as we could. We have got over the line with our tailenders (before), so I had faith in the guys coming in. First ball of the second last over went, and I thought I have to finish the game here.