India and Pakistan have advanced to the T20 World Cup semifinals after South Africa was eliminated by the Netherlands in a shocking 13-run defeat on Sunday.
On a sluggish pitch, the Proteas fell short of their 159-run target, which would have guaranteed them a spot in the final four regardless of other results. Pakistan and Bangladesh were left to play for a semi-final position in the second match of the day at the same location.
Pakistan won by five wickets to complete a remarkable turnaround after losing their first two Super 12s group games. India later clinched first place with a resounding victory against Zimbabwe in Melbourne and will face England in the semi-finals, while Pakistan will face the Group 1 champions, New Zealand.
South Africa’s white-ball captain, Temba Bavuma, has stated that he will evaluate his position in the coming weeks as a result of their shocking loss. After the game, he said, “It’s been a difficult period.” “Regardless of the circumstances, I conduct myself with dignity in both good and terrible times. If I were to go, my pride would remain intact.”
Tom Cooper’s quickfire 35 off 19 balls was followed by Colin Ackermann’s unbeaten 41 off 26 deliveries as the Netherlands compiled 158 for four after being sent into bat first. Rilee Rossouw top-scored with 25 runs off 19 balls as the opposition collapsed to 145 for eight in 20 overs, thus ending their campaign.
Bavuma was dismissed for 20 runs, bringing his tournament total to 70 runs in five innings. He acknowledged that the performance would only bolster South Africa’s reputation for failing to perform in key events. “I believe it will always be there until we reach the championship game and win,” he stated.
The loss also abruptly ends Mark Boucher’s term as South Africa’s head coach, but he denied that his team had lost its nerve. The more you don’t perform well in World Cups, I believe it starts to play in your head a bit, but I don’t believe that has been the case in recent years.
“We’ve won numerous close World Cup games in which we were in a close contest.” Historically, we have typically lost these games. To be fair, we were never truly in this game. On paper, we should have won the game, but the game is played in the middle.”
Bangladesh won the toss but was restricted to 127 for eight, as both teams were now directly battling for a semi-final spot. Najmul Hossain Shanto’s 54 off 48 balls kept the Tigers in contention despite Shaheen Shah Afridi’s four wickets for 22. Shakib Al Hasan was dismissed without scoring as the third umpire upheld an lbw call and technology was unable to determine if the Bangladesh captain had made contact with the ball.
Pakistan’s openers Babar Azam (25) and Mohammad Rizwan (32) propelled the team to 57 without loss right after the midway point, but both players experienced anxious moments. Mohammad Haris injected some urgency into the proceedings with 31 runs off 18 balls, while Shan Masood scored 24 runs off 14 balls as Pakistan cruised to victory with 11 balls remaining.
India’s qualification for the semi-finals was ensured by South Africa’s earlier loss, and they earned first place with a victory over Zimbabwe. Suryakumar Yadav scored 61 runs not out and KL Rahul added 51 runs off 35 balls as India reached 186-5 at the MCG.
Zimbabwe lost two wickets and scored just three runs in their first two overs in response, with Wesley Madhevere caught by Virat Kohli off the bowling of Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a duck off the opening ball. Zimbabwe was bowled out for 115, 72 runs short of their mark, despite a fight from Ryan Burl (35) and Sikandar Raza (35).
India will now play England in Adelaide on Thursday, while Pakistan will play New Zealand at the SCG on Wednesday.
