T20 World Cup 2022: South Africa choke against Netherlands in must-win game to get knocked out

South Africa have choked in yet another crucial World Cup game! The Netherlands stunned them by 13 runs in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 clash in Adelaide on Sunday, November 6, to knock them out of the competition.

With the shock defeat, the Proteas ended the Group 2 points table with five points. The winner of the Bangladesh-Pakistan match will now progress to the semi-finals. India, with six points, have also qualified, irrespective of their result against Zimbabwe later in the day.

Bowling first after winning the toss, South Africa allowed the Dutch to post a competitive 158/4. They then stumbled with the bat under pressure and managed only 145/8.

Quinton de Kock got the chase underway for South Africa with a couple of boundaries. However, he fell for 13, charging down the pitch to Fred Klaassen and only managing a nick to the keeper. Temba Bavuma’s horror World Cup ended as he was bowled for 20. The opening batter moved across his crease to attempt a flick off Paul van Meekeren, but missed the ball and was cleaned up.

Rilee Rossouw looked good for his 25 off 19 but holed out to deep square leg, trying to go after Brandon Glover. The Proteas were 68/3 at the halfway stage of their innings, with the Netherlands very much in the game. Aiden Markram (17) was the next to go as South Africa kept crumbling. He looked to clip a good-length ball from Klaassen but perished to a brilliant catch at short cover.

The massive moment in the match came when David Miller fell to Glover for 17. The left-hander miscued a pull and was superbly caught by Roelof van der Merwe, who ran behind from short fine leg and completed an excellent catch. In the same over, a nervous Wayne Parnell (0) nicked a full and wide ball to the keeper to leave the Proteas in the doldrums at 113/6.

The equation for South Africa to qualify for the semis was a tough 44 off the last four overs. Their last hope went when Heinrich Klaasen (21) pulled Bas de Leede into the hands of deep midwicket. Keshav Maharaj (13) struck a six off Logan van Beek in the penultimate over, but it was all too late.

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Ackermann blitz lifts Netherlands to 158/4 against South Africa

Earlier, after being sent in to bat, the Netherlands did a decent job of posting 158/4 in their 20 overs. Colin Ackermann top-scored with 41* off 26 balls, striking three fours and two sixes.

Stephan Myburgh (37 off 30), Tom Cooper (35 off 19) and Max O'Dowd (29 off 31) all chipped as the Dutch crossed the 150-run mark.

Myburgh dominated proceedings as the Netherlands ended the powerplay on a healthy 48/0. He whacked Kagiso Rabada for three fours in the second over. The Dutch opener also helped himself to two more boundaries off Lungi Ngidi in the fourth. Myburgh’s impressive knock ended when he slog-swept Markram to deep midwicket.

Cooper came and swung Markram for a six over deep midwicket. In an incredible display of innovative hitting, he then reverse-swept Maharaj for six over point. The left-arm spinner, however, dismissed O'Dowd in the same over. The Netherlands opener could not get going and holed out to long-off.

Cooper was then outfoxed by a slower delivery from Maharaj and could only top-edge his slog-sweep. De Leede (one) was cleaned up by a fast and straight delivery from Anrich Nortje as South Africa disturbed Netherlands’ batting momentum.

Ackermann, however, provided the final flourish for the Dutch and with some conviction. He swung an out-of-sorts Rabada for a four in the penultimate over and whacked Parnell for two sixes in the last over.

At the other end, Netherlands captain Scott Edwards (12* off seven) also chipped in with consecutive fours off Rabada.

Despite Ackermann’s late charge, South Africa would have been confident of chasing down the target at the innings break. Or perhaps not!