Image Credit- ICC
Three times is proof; twice is coincidence, and once is a hint.
That is the story behind South Africa’s matchup with Netherlands in this T20 World Cup, to borrow from Agatha Christie.
In a match in which South Africa looked to be sleepwalking, the Dutch defeated them in the 2022 tournament, ending their aspirations of making it to the semi-finals. They subsequently defeated them again in the 2023 ODI World Cup, exposing South Africa’s weakness in the chase. Not only will Netherlands win Group D if they complete the treble, but they will also provide unambiguous proof of the threat they represent to Full Members, particularly South Africa.
Naturally, it will require some work following South Africa’s opening display against Sri Lanka, in which they limited their opponent to their lowest T20I total and, with the help of their most reliable middle-order in their white-ball history, chased it down reasonably easily. South Africa has big-hitters and bankers in Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, and David Miller. They also have experience going into this match. As they have experienced playing at Eisenhower Park, they know firsthand that scoring runs is difficult; according to Klaasen, they are ready to apply their “cricket brains” and engage in “smarter cricket”.
However, Netherlands, who don’t have a lineup full of power hitters and base their innings on hitting ones into twos, may benefit from the circumstances. To put it another way, they usually bat a little more cautiously, which might be effective in this situation, but they’ll need to plot a counterattack, especially against South Africa’s seamers, because of the inconsistent bounce of the pitch. They will try to capitalise on their impressive display of bowling in Dallas against a Nepali lineup that is expected to be more aggressive than theirs, but they have silenced them not once, but twice in the past. They say that the third time is lucky.
Reeza Hendricks is the first-choice opener at this event and will be eager to prove his mettle as the batter in South Africa’s top six with the lowest strike-rate in T20Is, having missed out on a game at the 2022 T20 World Cup. In the Sri Lankan encounter, he had little opportunity as he was bowled by Nuwan Thushara in a manner reminiscent of a Test match as he edged him to slip after facing just two balls. After waited so long for a chance this prominent, he has now had time to adjust to playing in New York and combining his shots with the patience he needs.
Despite Vivian Kingma’s lack of wickets versus Nepal, his danger remains unaffected. In a period that established the tone for the Dutch, he got movement up front, whacked the ball away from the right-hand batters, beat the bat multiple times, and found the edge. South Africa’s top order will need to be extremely vigilant on a surface that might provide him with a great deal more help, but they also need to figure out how to hit the bowlers surrounding him.