At Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, did umpire Sam Nogajski’s call lose Bangladesh the match against South Africa in the T20 World Cup? That is too good to refuse. Miles off the stump at a critical juncture, Nogajski raised his finger for LBW as the ball raced towards the fence. Because of what appeared to be a rookie mistake by the excellent umpire, Bangladesh lost the game.
South Africa lost four early wickets when batting first, bringing their total down to 23/4. Despite having a strong first few overs, Quinton de Kock was unable to build on his momentum. Bangladesh was leading the Proteas thanks to the ruthlessness of Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Taskin Ahmed with the new ball. South Africa, on the other hand, looked unfavored after scoring 113 runs in the first inning, but Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller’s 79-run partnership pulled them back into the game.
Bangladesh was leading for most of the period, but things became more difficult for them once Towhid Hridoy was fired. After managing to hold on to the game, Aiden Markram’s team eventually won by a slim margin.
Also read: Why is Soumya Sarkar not participating in Match 21 of the T20 World Cup 2024 between SA and BAN?
Still, there were moments of anxiety for the Proteas. In the last two deliveries, Keshav Maharaj delivered a low full-toss that Mahmudullah whacked with all in his arsenal. It was close to reaching the fence, but Markram made an excellent catch. Six runs were needed to win. Taskin was unable to take advantage of Maharaj’s subsequent full toss, which led to a loss.
1. To win the game in New York, bat first
Many former cricket players often say that batting first is the best option because it becomes harder to chase while under duress. Teams now like to chase more frequently, which has changed the game. But Markram made the crucial decision to bat first after winning the toss, which turned out to be very important. At the halfway point, their 113 runs didn’t seem like enough. But as Pakistan did against India on June 9, Bangladesh gave in to coercion. That’s why it appears important to bat first on a slow surface like Nassau.
2. Miller-Klaasen arranges the win
Without Heinrich Klaasen’s and David Miller’s collaboration, South Africa would not have prevailed. Despite facing severe pressure after being reduced to 23/4, the Proteas persevered and saved the team. After leaving the game for 46 runs off 44 balls, Klaasen was on the verge of reaching his half-century but was unable to do so.
3. The shocking Sakib killed South Africa
Against South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2024 match, Tanzim Sakib was at the top of his game. With the new ball, he looked clinical and enjoyed picking wickets. The bowler claimed important wickets from Quinton de Kock, Tristan Stubbs, and Reeza Hendricks while giving up a total of 18 runs in four overs. Sakib might have been POTM if Bangladesh had prevailed in the match.
Losing skipper Najmul Shanto said:
We were bit nervous but we were confident we could get over the line but unfortunately it did not happen. (Tanzim Hasan) He worked really hard last couple of days, we wanted wickets with the new ball and he showed character today. This is the match we should have won, last couple of overs they bowled really well.
It can happen in cricket. (Rishad) He is very good, the way we bowled last couple of series, he practiced very hard. We’ve struggled with leg-spinners over the last 10-15 yrs so we’re lucky we got one. Hopefully he can continue. Thanks to all the supporters, hopefully they’ll come to the West Indies as well.
Winning skipper Aiden Markram said:
You’re always going to be nervous in a final over finish like that. It can make you mentally quite tired but it’s great to be a part of games like these. (The catch) It could’ve gone anywhere but a few things went our way today so was great to be on the right side of that and get the win. You want to drag the game out as long as you can, it’s all conditions dependent so we wanted to drag the game out. We put him under quite a bit of pressure but David (Miller) has done it back to back to get us to decent scores.
POTM Heinrich Klaasen said:
That was not nice on the heart but good that we got over the line. The wicket is not too great for strokeplay. We got some good information from the last game and applied it today, we got a decent score. Luckily we’ve got experience in the change room, we almost had a One-Day mindset. Three pressure games now but I think we’re through so that’s good.