Nepali fans are shocked and players inconsolable as the team misses out on South Africa’s historic T20WC victory by one point.

South Africa captain Aiden Markram said after losing on Saturday at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, St Vincent, that he was looking forward to a “good challenge” from Nepal, who “played some very good cricket”, although his team has already qualified for the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup. Little did he know that Nepal would wreak such havoc to the point of inflicting the biggest scare in its international cricket history.

The change of venue did not change the fortunes of the South African batting team, who put on yet another chaotic spectacle at the World Cup, despite their best total of 115 for seven. The batters struggled against the Nepalese spinners , with Kushal Bhurtel being the standout player with his 4 for 19.

In response, the openers got Nepal off to a comfortable start, adding 36 runs for the first wicket before Tabraiz Shamsi picked up two quick wickets in the eighth over. It hosted Nepal’s best partnership in the chase as the third-wicket combination of Aasif Sheikh and Anil Shah added 50 runs off 36 balls before the minnows found themselves needing just 31 more on the last 38 balls.

South Africa pulled away with a couple of quick wickets, but Nepal remained in the match, needing 21 from the last four overs. The match was a rollercoaster of emotions as Shamsi once again helped South Africa gain momentum with two wickets in the 18th over before Anrich Nortje removed Kushal Malla to send Nepal 6 However, Sompal Kami’s 105-yard six brought the match back to life, leaving the crowd in suspense. Gulsan Jha intensified the situation further by reducing the equation to 2 for 2 with a superb loft shot for a boundary in the final over.

But it all came crashing down just as Nepal was on the verge of a historic victory against South Africa. Ottneil Baartman threw a dot ball to set up the final out – 2 needed from 1 – and stuck to his strategy of throwing another short ball to Gulshan, who failed to make contact once again, but quickly took off for a single to force. a Super Over. However, wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock collected the ball calmly and aimed at the bowler’s side to dismiss Gulshan, but the ball hit his back and deflected towards cover. Heinrich Klaasen then collected the ball and sent an underarmed shot towards the off stump as Gulshan was caught just a yard away from the crease.

South Africa placed 4 out of 4 in the group stage, while the defeat meant Nepal were officially eliminated from the World Cup.

Gulshan was shocked at the bowler’s end as the South African players broke into wild celebrations. He was later seen in tears, like most of the players, while fans were left in disbelief and inconsolation.

Nepal captain Rohit Paudel was quick to highlight the positives of the match and thanked the ardent fans who came from Nepal to cheer the team.

“Very proud of the unit, especially the way we bowled and batted. We saw the wicket yesterday and thought it would be slower. We saw it was helping the spinners and that’s to that time we introduced Kushal Bhurtel and continued with the spinners We were so close but a bit far away We didn’t do well in the critical moments but we fought very well. side next time if we face teams like this more often I want to thank the fans for supporting us, we are very grateful to them.