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South Africa 115 for 7 (Hendricks 43, Stubbs 27*, Bhurtel 4-19, Airee 3-21) beat Nepal 114 for 7 (Aasif 42, Sah 27, Shamsi 4-19) by one run
But for so very long, the game seemed Nepal’s to lose. Their spinners had spun a web to limit South Africa to a subpar 115 for 7 – even on a difficult, turning track – and then with the bat had brought the equation down to 25 needed off 30 balls, with seven wickets in hand.
SA’s overly cautious start
Possibly scarred by their earlier outings in the tournament, South Africa began the game a touch too cautiously, and in the process batted conservatively when conditions for batting were at their best.
While their 38 for 1 in the powerplay was their best of the tournament, South Africa were guilty of waiting for loose deliveries instead of putting the bowlers off their lines early on. Nepal for their part, rarely strayed in their lines and lengths and once the spinners took hold, they never looked back.
Nepal spinners make SA crumble
South Africa did their best to negotiate the conditions with a steady approach, but despite run-a-ball stands of 22 and 46 for the first two wickets, they struggled to up their gears. Only Tristan Stubbs, who scored 27 in 18 balls from No. 8, scored at a strike rate of over 100.
In all, Nepal bowled spin for 14 overs, including the final over of the innings. There Bhurtel grabbed two wickets for nine runs, and Nepal had conceded only 58 runs in the back end for six wickets, after conceding only 57 in the first ten.
Sah, Aasif steady the chase
Nepal were provided an early reprieve when Kagiso Rabada dropped a catch. After that, Nepal opted for risk-free cricket as they lumbered to 32 at the end of the powerplay without losing a wicket. With spin playing such a pivotal role though, Shamsi’s introduction was always going to prove critical in the game and so it proved.
Shamsi’s 18th-over heist
With just one frontline spinner in the XI, South Africa knew they’d have to time Shamsi’s reintroduction perfectly. Aiden Markram, with his part-time offbreaks, had ended the Sah-Sheikh stand, but Airee was determined to stick in with the set Sheikh.
But enter Shamsi. His third delivery of the 18th turned down the leg side, but Airee’s attempted pull got a feather touch to Quinton de Kock. So light was the touch that Airee reviewed thinking he hadn’t touched it. Shamsi then grabbed the big fish off his final delivery, ripping one through Aasif’s bat and pad to clatter into the stumps. By the time he was done, Nepal needed 16 off 12.
Baartman holds his nerve
Shamsi’s over was backed up by Nortje, who bowled four consecutive dots to start the penultimate over – including one which took off the top of Kushal Malla’s middle stump. That left Nepal needing 16 off eight, with them needing at least one big hit before it got too late.
Kami then unleashed a monstrous 105-metre pull that sent the ball sailing out of the stands to bring the equation down to eight off the final over. When the teenager Jha found a boundary over cover to make it four runs off three balls, the Nepal fans stood up, with their phones out, to capture a potentially historic moment.
A hard-run two off the next delivery showed that Nepal understood the brief precisely, but a pair of expertly executed slower bouncers by Baartman off the final two deliveries proved too good to get away.
A desperate run off a bye off the final ball might have led to a Super Over, but as the ball deflected off Jha, it was picked up by Heinrich Klaasen lurking near the stumps and he flicked to the non-striker’s end. Jha was short and Nepal were out.
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