South Africa Clinches Victory Over Netherlands in T20 World Cup Thriller

South Africa Edges Past Netherlands in T20 Thriller

South Africa made heavy weather of a modest chase in New York before David Miller and Tristan Stubbs dug deep to save them from a third straight defeat at the hands of the Netherlands in an ICC tournament.

Early Collapse and Miller's Redemption

Miller and Stubbs added 65 for the fifth wicket to lift South Africa from a dire 12 for 4 on a pitch that didn't play as badly as the scorecard suggested, despite enough in it for quick bowlers. Thirteen of the 15 wickets fell to them, while there were two run-outs.

As he walked out to bat, Miller might have had a flashback of Adelaide 2022, where his wicket, with 47 needed off 28 balls, shut the door on South Africa and gave the Netherlands a 13-run win. On Saturday, Miller stayed the course and remained unbeaten on 59, flicking on his best six-hitting self in the penultimate over with South Africa needing 16 off 12.

In the end, in a game where 209 runs were scored in 38.5 overs, South Africa won with enough to spare.

South African Meltdown

The early innings saw a dramatic collapse:

Quinton de Kock was run out without facing a ball.

Reeza Hendricks got a peach from Logan van Beek that angled in and straightened to hit the top of off.

Vivian Kingma had the first of a double when he strangled Aiden Markram down leg to leave South Africa 3 for 3.

Heinrich Klaasen's rush of blood had him picking out Tim Pringle attempting a pull off Kingma, leaving the Netherlands dreaming of another upset.

Miller and Stubbs Take Over

Both Miller and Stubbs are instinctive batters who love taking the bowlers on. But the situation they walked out to was not for that sort of batting; it was a crisis. A mis-step could have meant curtains. So they chose caution, saw off the powerplay without any further damage, and hit only a further two boundaries until the ten-over mark to leave South Africa needing 72 off the last ten overs.

Stubbs was on 9 off 21 at this point, struggling to force the pace, especially when the ball was dug in to the pitch. A hint of grip for the spinners also made it difficult for him to hit out. So when Bas de Leede came on in the 11th, Stubbs gave him the charge and enjoyed a massive slice of luck as a thick inside edge flew wide of the midwicket fielder.

Miller, too, rode some luck. A big hit down the ground off left-arm spinner Pringle only just eluded the long-on fielder in the 12th over with South Africa still needing 57 off 50.

Stubbs finally shrugged off the pressure that had built around him with a hoick for six off Vikramjit Singh and then launched van Beek down the ground three balls later to turn the tide South Africa's way.

Miller Lands the Finishing Blows

It should have been a smooth ride from there, with South Africa needing 29 off 30. But there was another twist. First, Paul van Meekeren delivered a maiden over to Miller, and the pressure showed when Stubbs holed out to deep midwicket in the next, off Bas de Leede. Then, in the 18th, van Beek came back after being walloped for six by Miller to dismiss Marco Jansen.

But, with South Africa needing 16 off 12, de Leede erred in line. Miller began the penultimate over by dispatching a half-tracker over fine leg, and then finished the game with a sequence of 2, 0, 4, and 6 - cue a roar and wild fist pumping.

Miller had tamed the demons of Adelaide 2022.

Engelbrecht Props Up Netherlands

Sybrand Engelbrecht, who represented South Africa at the Under-19 World Cup in 2008 and only recently made his Netherlands debut, top-scored with a 45-ball 40 on a surface where the next best among the top seven was 12.

Hostile South African Bowling

At the toss, Netherlands were put into bat, seemingly because South Africa wanted to exploit the morning conditions. They had them tottering at 32 for 4. South Africa's four-pronged pace attack, led by Marco Jansen, was breathing fire at that stage, with pace and bounce off the pitch for assistance.

South Africa's hostility didn't end there, with Ottneil Baartman and Anrich Nortje ensuring there weren't any freebies. This resulted in Netherlands attempting to manufacture strokes, like Scott Edwards did when he executed a reverse scoop for six, but they simply didn't have enough.

Netherlands' Fighting Spirit

It came down to Engelbrecht's patient knock and his 54-run association with van Beek to get them into three figures. It would have been inadequate on most days, but the Netherlands can give themselves a pat on the back for making a match out of it to keep Group D very open.