The 16th match of the T20 World Cup is going to be crucial, a proper rivalry, no we are not talking about Pakistan and India, or Australia and England but Netherlands and South Africa.
The encounter will hold so much value for both sides as it will make their position stronger for the next round of the tournament.
The match will be played on 8th June at New York
Team overview:
Netherlands will be heading to this encounter with aplomb. They beat South Africa twice in the recent World Cups. In the 2022 T20 World Cup they ended South Africa’s hope for the semi finals by defeating them by 13 runs and in the ODI World Cup 2023 they replicated the same heroics exposing the weakness of Africa while chasing.
In the ongoing T20 World Cup, Netherlands had a thumping start to their T20 World Cup campaign as they edged past Nepal winning the game by six wickets.
Netherlands will be hoping to continue their dominance against South Africa like the previous World Cups.
Although Vivian Kingma went wicketless against Nepal but that does not nullify the threat he posts to the batters. He can bowl upfront, can swing the ball, and has ability to pick up early wickets.
The team will also be relying on the veterans like Logan Van Beek and Max O’Dowd to chip in with the contributions and of course the spin of Tim Pringle can disturb South African’ batters.
South Africa on the other hand will also be confident as they handed humiliating defeat to Sri Lanka in their T20 World Cup opener as they bundled out the side for just 77 runs, achieving the target in 16.2 overs.
Also the back in form Anrich Nortje will be the key point for Aiden Markarm’s side. The form of Reeza Hendricks may be a concerning point but maybe the opener will get his groove back against the Dutch side.
Head-to-head:
The teams have participated in two T20is so far and both sides have won each game. The competition between the sides is evenly poised so whoever wins the next encounter will take the lead and strengthen the position for the Super Eight.
Pitch and weather report:
It is a brand-new pitch and the same pitch will be used for the high-octane Pakistan and India clash. This pitch has troubled the batters as witnessed from previous encounters but on a brighter side the weather forecast is excellent with clear skies.
Predictions:
Although Netherlands have defeated South Africa in recent encounters, South Africa is in hot form and they are expected to get better of Netherlands this time around.
Where to watch:
Pakistan – PTV Sports, Ten Sports, Myco (Live streaming), Tamasha app (Live streaming), Tapmad (live streaming)
India – Star Sports
England – SkySport Network
USA and Canada (Willow TV)
Caribbean – ESPN Caribbean
New Zealand & Australia – Sky Sports NZ, Prime Video
UK & Northern Ireland – Sky Sports
Sri Lanka – Maharaja TV
Other regions – SuperSport, Sirasa, CricLife, STARZPLAY
