South African great Dale Steyn revealed that he was rooting for ‘underdog’ Nepal in their thriller against South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2024.
Nepal suffered a heartbreak as they were defeated by South Africa by one run in their group-stage game of the T20 World Cup.
Reacting to the game, Dale Steyn said that he liked supporting the ‘underdog’ in any contest and was backing Nepal to edge South Africa in the game.
“It was incredible to watch. I think the match of the tournament to be honest with you. I am a big underdog fan, so even being South African, I was kind of like come on Nepal,” he said after the thrilling game.
The former South African pacer recalled seeing people crying after Nepal fell just one run short to register a historic victory in the T20 World Cup 2024.
View this post on Instagram
“It shows you how much it means to people and I think that’s what cricket is all about. Not the 200s, this is what the game is about.,” he said.
Read more: Mark Wood reacts to Hazlewood’s England elimination comments
“It would’ve been the talk of the tournament if Nepal would’ve gotten over the line. It would’ve been fantastic, and they deserved to win,” the former South African added.
After put to bat first, South Africa were restricted to 115 over the loss of seven wickets in their 20 overs. Reeza Hendricks remained the top-scorer with 43 runs off 49 balls while Tristan Stubbs added an unbeaten 27 runs off 18 deliveries.
View this post on Instagram
In reply, Nepal almost chased down the target of 116 but fell short by just one run as Aasif Sheikh scored 42 runs and Anil Sah contributed 27 runs.
Nepal needed two runs off the last ball to win, but Gulshan Jha was run out while taking a run. Tabraiz Shamsi took a four-wicket haul in South Africa’s victory.