ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 South Africa will take over Nepal at St. Vincent, South Africa’s eye will be trying to keep their winning momentum and want to end their group stage on a high note. Nepal lost its first match against the Netherlands and the next match was abandoned due to rain. Nepal would like to win the match for their reputation as they have very low expectations for qualifying in Super 8.
Journey till now: South Africa and Nepal
South Africa has been a very dangerous team with the ball as they have made a statement through their performances while other teams have suffered a lot. South Africa has played their all matches in New York where the pitch was unpredictable and the bowlers were more dominating, now they are heading to the island country West Indies where spin wizards will be more effective and so batters will dominate but need to be more patient. South Africa’s top order is a big concern for them past 3 matches top order failed to score runs middle order stabilized the game and bowlers did their job properly so to finish their group stage on a good note top order needed to make runs. Anrich Nortje’s comeback has made Proteas a strong bowling unit which will be even more dangerous in Super 8.
Nepal’s fortune is not helping them so they would like to play with more effort. First match they lost and the second match was abandoned so it’s an alarming bell for them and chances for Nepal are very less so for the sake of reputation and fans they will play good cricket and would like to perform well as well. Sandeep Lamichhane would like to come back to the team after their release from jail. Sandeep’s involvement will help Nepal to outshine more and even they have a chance to defeat South Africa and spoil their party before heading for Super 8.
Stats:
- Not only is Lamichhane Nepal’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is, he is also two wickets away from 100 in the format. He also has the seventh-lowest bowling average in T20Is overall (and the second-lowest among bowlers playing the World Cup
- Heinrich Klaasen is two sixes away from become the leading six-hitter in T20s this year. So far, he has stuck 80 in 33 matches, two fewer than Nicholas Pooran, who has played two more matches
- There have only been two T20Is hosted in St Vincent before, both in 2013 in a series between West Indies and Pakistan played in July. Pakistan won the first match chasing 153 and the second after they defended 135.
Playing XI:
Match-ups:
Sandeep Lamichhane, Nepal’s best-known player, has not played an international match since November last year after being convicted of and then acquitted for rape. The latter came ten days before participating teams had to name their final squads for the tournament and his name was not on Nepal’s initial list. Cleverly, they only included 14 players. But Lamichhane was subsequently denied a visa to enter the USA and had to miss Nepal’s first two games, but has reached St Vincent.
The one aspect of South Africa’s game that needs improving is the performance of the top-three batters, who have collectively scored just 61 runs from nine trips to the crease. That may be due to the difficulties of the New York surfaces, where they played all their matches, and could change if conditions are less tricky in the Caribbean. Still, Quinton de Kock, who is likely playing his last international event, Reeza Hendricks, who was overlooked in 2022 and may feel the pressure to prove why that was the wrong decision, and Aiden Markram, who is captaining, will want to do better. De Kock and Markram have both made some starts but Hendricks is particularly short of runs. With Ryan Rickelton in the squad, he will know he has some competition.