NEW YORK: David Miller smashed an unbeaten half-century to help struggling South Africa seal a hard-fought four-wicket victory over the Netherlands in the 16th match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 here on Saturday.
The Proteas, chasing a modest victory target of 104 after opting to bowl first and restricting the Dutch to 103, looked to be in peril after slumping to 12-4 after 4.3 overs at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
But David Miller’s unbeaten 59 steadied the ship and dragged South Africa over the line as they finished on 106-6 with seven balls to spare.
Put into bat first, the Netherlands batting unit struggled against a pace-heavy South Africa bowling attack and thus registered a meagre total on the board.
The Dutch had a disastrous start to their innings as they lost their opener Michael Levitt on just the third delivery of the innings.
Levitt’s dismissal halted the flow of runs for the European side and they began to lose wickets at an alarming. The Netherlands, as a result, slipped to 48/6 in 11.5 overs.
Meanwhile, Sybrand Engelbrecht, who came out to bat at No.4, finally found subtle support at the other end in the form of Bas de Leede.
The duo took on the fight against a ruthless South Africa bowling attack and added valuable runs to the Netherlands’ total with a 54-run partnership that lasted with Engelbrecht’s dismissal in the final over, bowled Ottneil Baartman.
Sybrand Engelbrecht remained the top-scorer for the Netherlands with a gutsy 40 off 45 deliveries with the help of two fours and a six.
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The Dutch then lost two more wickets in a sensational final over as Tim Pringle and van Beek also fell victim to Baartman.
Logan van Beek remained a notable run-getter for the Netherlands with a 22-ball 23 which featured three boundaries.
Ottneil Baartman led the bowling charge for South Africa with 4/11 in his four overs, followed by Anrich Nortje and Marco Jansen, who bagged two wickets each.
It is worth mentioning here that both South Africa and the Netherlands won their opening games of the T20 World Cup 2024 but the African side lead the Group D standings due to a superior net run-rate.
