Heinrich Klaasen executed a run out on the final delivery, securing South Africa’s unbeaten streak at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and eliminating Nepal from the Super Eights contention with a nail-biting one-run victory in St Vincent on Friday.
Nepal, requiring two runs to win from the last ball to advance to the Super Eights, saw Klaasen coolly run out Gulsan Jha at the non-striker’s end, preventing what seemed like an imminent Super Over.
For Nepal, it was a heartbreaking end, especially since they had outplayed South Africa for most of the match. Their spinners excelled, restricting South Africa to 115/7, and their top order was comfortably positioned at 85/2 in the 14th over, with the required run rate well within grasp.
However, South Africa’s spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (4/19) shifted the momentum towards the Proteas, and the pace pair of Anrich Nortje (1/27) and Ottneil Baartman (0/20) composedly bowled the last two overs. South Africa clung on, denying Nepal their first international win against a full ICC member nation.
South Africa must enhance their performance in the next tournament phase to compete with the top teams, as they struggled throughout much of the game against Nepal.
Opener Reeza Hendricks (43) was the only South African batsman to occupy the crease for an extended period, while Tristan Stubbs (27* off 18 balls) was the only one to end with a strike rate over 100, as Nepal’s spinners controlled the game, limiting the Proteas to just over 100 runs.
