The state of playSouth Africa’s place in the T20 World Cup Super 8s is already secured as they look to round off their group campaign with four wins from four against Nepal at the Arnos Vale Stadium.
That is an extremely tough prospect, however, with South Africa in fine form while amassing three straight wins against Sri Lanka, the Netherlands and Bangladesh.
PredictionSouth Africa’s bowling unit have barely put a foot wrong and that spells trouble for a Nepal side that struggles with their top-order batting.
It will be down to Nepal’s middle order to score the runs necessary to pull off a shock.
We predict South Africa to have little issue in conmpleting the group stage with a 100% record.
The state of play
South Africa’s place in the T20 World Cup Super 8s is already secured as they look to round off their group campaign with four wins from four against Nepal at the Arnos Vale Stadium.
The Proteas were the first at the tournament to seal their place in the next round due to Nepal and Sri Lanka’s match being rained off on Tuesday.
It did also see winless Nepal get their first points on the board and keep alive their slim hopes of joining them in the knockout stage, with the Rhinos needing to win their remaining two fixtures.
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Just a point separates Bangladesh, Netherlands, Nepal and Sri Lanka in Group D, meaning an unlikely victory for the Nepalese in St Vincent would be huge for their prospects of reaching the Super 8s for the first time.
That is an extremely tough prospect, however, with South Africa in fine form while amassing three straight wins against Sri Lanka, the Netherlands and Bangladesh.
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Their latest against Bangladesh was won in nail-biting fashion, defending a total of just 113-8 with a win from the last ball of the match in New York.
After Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller had rescued the Proteas with a 79-run stand, the pressure was on the South African attack to pull off a miracle.
The game eventually came down to a dramatic final over by Keshav Maharaj, who dismissed Jaker Ali, Maumudullah and Taskin Ahmed at the death to close out the win and help his side top Group D.
Saturday’s match should be a much more straightforward affair and the Proteas may already have one eye on the next stage.
Nepal were soundly beaten by the Netherlands in their first game and head to Barbados for the second part of their group campaign with it all to do.
Player of the match against Bangladesh Klaasen believes South Africa’s pulsating group campaign so far will prove to be good experience as the stakes rise even higher in the Super 8s.
🇿🇦 win a thriller in New York 🔥 A skilful bowling display against Bangladesh helps them defend the lowest total in Men’s #T20WorldCup history 👏#T20WorldCup | #SAvBAN | 📝: https://t.co/DLC7l5c5WU pic.twitter.com/M4g33OcW3B — T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) June 10, 2024
He said: “It was not a nice one to watch, it was good that the boys got it over the line.
“The wicket is not too great for strokeplay. David showed us how to bat on this wicket in the last match and we applied that today. We were about 10 runs short.
“Luckily we’ve got experience in the changing room. We had to play with less of a one-day mindset today.
“It’ll be good confidence for the boys, we’ve had three pressurised games now.”
Expected line-ups
South Africa: David Miller, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen, Tristan Stubbs, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen, Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Anrich Nortje, Ottneil Baartman
Nepal: Kushal Bhurtel, Aasif Sheikh (wk), Anil Sah, Rohit Paudel (c), Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sompal Kami, Gulsan Jha, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhan, Abinash Bohara
How to watch
Sky have the rights to show the T20 World Cup to UK viewers in 2024 and will broadcast every game live. Coverage gets underway on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket from 12am (BST) on Saturday.
In India, the games can be streamed on Disney + Hotstar app and website. They are also available across the Star Sports Network.
Prediction
South Africa’s bowling unit have barely put a foot wrong and that spells trouble for a Nepal side that struggles with their top-order batting.
It will be down to Nepal’s middle order to score the runs necessary to pull off a shock.
We predict South Africa to have little issue in conmpleting the group stage with a 100% record.
