 "How Saurabh Netravalkar and Harmeet Singh bamboozled South Africa's T20 batting giants")
Saurabh Netravalkar and Harmeet Singh have been among the key performers in what has been a standout campaign for the United States of American the T20 World Cup so far, and it was no different for the two Indian-origin cricketers in Wednesday’s clash against South Africa in Antigua.
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Netravalkar and Harmeet, both of whom hail from Mumbai and had represent India in the 2010 U-19 World Cup, were among the key performers against South Africa in the first match of the Super Eights, collecting a couple of wickets each to help the Americans restrict the Proteas to less than 200.
Netravalkar, whose Super Over heroics against Pakistan shot him to overnight stardom, finished with 2/21 from four overs while Harmeet conceded 24 for his two wickets. The two bowlers managed to maintain an economy of six or less in a match in which the Proteas managed to amass 194 runs.
Netravalkar struck early after USA captain Aaron Jones, filling in for Monank Patel for the second time in as many matches, opted to field with opener Reeza Hendricks dismissed for a run-a-ball 11 with just 16 runs on the board for the two-time semi-finalists.
Quinton de Kock (74) would not only help South Africa recover from the early blow, but put them on track for a 200-plus total with a 110-run second-wicket partnership with Aiden Markram (46). South Africa were going strong at 126/1 in the 13th over when Harmeet’s twin strike brought the Americans back into the game.
De Kock would be the first to perish, smacking a juicy full toss from the left-arm spinner towards deep midwicket where Jahangir Khan complete a fine catch at the edge of the boundary. The southpaw tried getting a no-ball check for height, but failed to overturn the original decision.
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More ShortsThe hard-hitting David Miller, who starred in his team’s hard-fought victory over Netherlands, would then be dismissed for a golden duck right after, chipping the ball straight back to the bowler for a catch off his own bowling.
Skipper Markram would then miss out on a half-century a couple of overs later, slicing a wide delivery towards deep backward point where Ali Khan would safely latch on to the ball. South Africa suddenly found themselves in a spot of bother after losing three wickets for just 15 runs in a space of three overs.
An unbroken fifth-wicket partnership between Heinrich Klaasen (36 not out) and Tristan Stubbs (20 not out) worth 53 runs helped South Africa finish within touching distance of the 200-mark and boost their chances of collecting a fifth win in as many matches in the ongoing tournament.
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