SA vs NEP | Tabraiz Shamsi's mesmerizing spell shattered Nepal's hopes in a gripping low-scoring thriller

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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South Africa clinched a nail-biting victory over Nepal by one run at Kingtown. Nepal's outstanding bowling initially restricted South Africa, but a sudden collapse in the death overs during Nepal's chase dashed their hopes of a seemingly assured victory, ultimately handing South Africa the win.

Already assured of progressing to the Super Eight stage, South Africa faced Nepal. Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel won the toss and chose to field first, which initially paid off. Quinton de Kock's struggle continued as he departed cheaply in the fourth over after scoring just 10 runs. However, Aiden Markram and Reeza Hendricks steadied the innings with a 35-run partnership, bringing the score to 57/1 by the 10th over. Just when South Africa seemed to be regaining control, Kushal Bhurtel made a crucial breakthrough by dismissing Markram in the 12th over. From there, Nepal's bowlers capitalized on the momentum shift. Kushal Bhurtel's four-wicket haul and Dipendra Singh Airee's three wickets in the death overs put immense pressure on the Proteas. Despite Hendricks' contribution of 43 runs off 49 balls, South Africa struggled to accelerate, finishing their innings at a modest 115/7 after 20 overs.

In response, Nepal's openers Aasif Sheikh and Kushal Bhurtel made a solid start guiding the score to 32/0 by the end of the powerplay. However, the momentum shifted in South Africa's favour when Tabraiz Shamsi dismissed Bhurtel and Paudel in the eighth over. Despite this setback, Anil Sah and Aasif Sheikh steadied Nepal with a crucial 50-run partnership, advancing the score to 82/2 after 13 overs. South Africa managed to regain control when Markram removed Sah in the 14th over, though Nepal remained on the brink of a historic victory. Entering the final five overs with just 25 runs needed, all eyes were on Airee and Aasif to secure a remarkable win for the underdogs. However, Shamsi's brilliance once again came to the fore as he claimed two more wickets in the 18th over, tilting the momentum towards South Africa. The match took another dramatic turn when Anrich Nortje dismissed Kushal Malla in the 19th over, leaving Nepal to chase 16 runs from the final 10 deliveries. Sompal Kami's crucial six in that over revitalized Nepal's hopes, setting up a tense finale. Requiring 8 runs from the last over, Nepal aimed to finish the game with pride, but Ottneil Baartman's superb bowling prevented Gulshan Jha from closing the match in Nepal's favour. Ultimately, Nepal fell agonizingly short and lost the game by just one run, which dashed their aspirations of progressing to the Super Eight stage.

What the he**** whattttt???????

So close!

Hurts more than a breakup!

That was almost Nepal's win but...

This is sad now!

Man they gonna feel this for lifetime!

Damn it!

Agreed!

Bought so close tho!

Yeah!

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