David Miller hit a brilliant fifty to help South Africa avoid a massive scare, securing a four-wicket victory over the Netherlands at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York. In a tense T20 World Cup match, Miller’s composed innings of 59 runs off 51 balls was pivotal in rescuing South Africa from a precarious position and steering them to triumph with two balls to spare.
South Africa’s bowlers produced a brilliant performance to restrict the Netherlands to a modest 103 for nine wickets in their T20 World Cup Group D encounter at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Saturday. Ottniel Baartman was the star of the show, delivering a dazzling four-wicket bowling performance. Baartman finished with exceptional figures of 4-11 off his four overs, spearheading a South African bowling attack that never allowed the Dutch batsmen to settle. Supporting Baartman, Marco Jansen and Anrich Nortje each claimed two wickets, keeping the Netherlands on the back foot throughout their innings.
The match began disastrously for the Netherlands, with Jansen striking in the opening over. Michael Levitt was caught behind for a duck after a review confirmed the dismissal, setting the tone for the Dutch innings. South Africa’s second wicket came swiftly as Max O’Dowd edged behind off Baartman, with Jansen taking a superb one-handed diving catch at first slip, leaving the Netherlands struggling at 15-2 after four overs. The situation worsened in the following over when Jansen uprooted Vikramjist Singh’s stumps, reducing the Netherlands to 17-3. Bas de Leede’s dismissal for six, caught off Nortje, compounded their woes as the ball rocketed up off the wicket.
South African skipper Aiden Markram’s brilliant fielding resulted in a run-out of Scott Edwards for 10 in the 12th over. Just three balls later, Nortje struck again, with Teja Nidamanuru’s leading edge landing in Heinrich Klaasen’s hands at deep third man, making it 48-6. Despite a brief fightback from Sybrand Engelbrecht and Logan van Beek, who scored 40 and 23 respectively, Baartman returned to clean up the tail, reaffirming South Africa’s control in the final overs.
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