Staff Reporter.
South Africa have crashed out of the T20 World Cup after the Netherlands produced a shock result to beat the Proteas by 13 runs at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
The Proteas stumbled to 145/8 in pursuit of the Netherlands 158/4 with the Dutch holding their nerve at the death to close out the contest.
Medium-pacer Brandon Glover (3/9) turned the game on its head in the 16th over with a double-wicket over, which included the huge dismissal of David Miller.
Glover will, though, be the first to congratulate Roelof van der Merwe for grabbing an excellent catch to assist the dismissal of the dangerous Miller for 17. New batter Wayne Parnell fell just two balls later for a duck which left South Africa with a mountain too steep for them to climb.
The Proteas were unable to put together any meaningful partnerships as they lost wickets at regular intervals throughout their innings.
Quinton de Kock’s early dismissal provided the Dutch with the belief, which only increased when captain Temba Bavuma walked across to his stumps to be clean bowled shortly after for a run-a-ball 20.
Rilee Rossouw (25) tried to contain himself on a slowish surface, but ultimately fell too when attempting a big shot as the run-rate began to escalate.
Colin Ackerman maintained the pressure by delivering his three overs for just 16 runs.
LACK OF BOUNDARIES
Aiden Markram (17) also got a start and Heinrich Klaasen (21) but neither could create the momentum the innings required with South Africa striking just 12 boundaries in comparison to the Netherlands’ 20.
The Dutch bowling unit were much more disciplined than their South African counterparts, and executed their game plans better, especially in terms of safeguarding the long boundary, with Fred Klaasen (2/20) and Bas de Leede (2/25) leading the way for the European team.
It was all, though, set up by South African-born Ackerman who provided the late impetus for the Dutch with a 26-ball 41 not out.
Ackerman, who played numerous seasons for the Warriors in the Eastern Cape, took full advantage of Wayne Parnell (0/32) missing his yorkers in the final over by flicking the left-armer for two sixes over mid-wicket.
Fellow South African-born Stephan Myburgh had provided the Netherlands with the perfect start as he struck a rapid 37 off 30 balls to provide the early impetus for the Dutch.
This was partially due to a lacklustre opening burst from the Proteas seamers. The South African attack seemed not to adjust to the slower conditions at the Adelaide Oval, and were punished off their hard lengths.
LITTLE RHYTHM
Lungi Ngidi (0/35) and Kagiso Rabada, in particular, struggled to find any sort of rhythm. This allowed the Dutch to produce a solid Powerplay of 48 without loss.
It was only after the introduction of part-time spinner Aiden Markram (1/16) that South Africa managed to execute the breakthrough when he had Myburgh caught in the deep.
Myburgh’s departure allowed South Africa to put the brakes on with left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj (2/27) exploiting the slower surface.
Maharaj picked up two wickets, flummoxing both Max O’Dowd (29 off 31 balls) and Tom Cooper (35 off 19 balls), with slower deliveries to have them caught.
The runs dried up spectacularly for the Dutch after the duo’s dismissal with Anrich Nortje producing the most economical figures of the Super 12 stage. The speedster was excellent, really turning up the heat with speeds in excess of 150km/h, and gained his reward when he clean bowled Bas de Leede to finish with the figures of 4-0-10-1.
However, Rabada’s (0/37) indifferent form is proving to be a real concern for the Proteas as the fast bowler allowed the Netherlands to wriggle free from the pressure with 16 runs conceded in the penultimate over of the innings.
Parnell, who was superb until the final over, then conceded 15 runs as the Dutch added 31 runs in the final two overs to set up an intriguing chase.
Ultimately it was those last overs that separated the teams, although plenty had gone wrong on all fronts that led to South Africa’s demise.
SOUTH AFRICA: Temba Bavuma (capt), Quinton de Kock (wk), Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi
NETHERLANDS: Stephan Myburgh, Max ODowd, Tom Cooper, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Scott Edwards (capt & wk), Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Fred Klaassen, Paul van Meekeren, Brandon Glover.