After a dominant display in their T20 World Cup opener against Sri Lanka, South Africa will move on to their next assignment against The Netherlands, on Saturday in New York.
The Proteas have lost their last two World Cup encounters against a talented Dutch side, with their defeats last year in the 50-over edition and in the 2022 T20 event.
On both occasions, South Africa failed batting second with much of the same team that will likely take the field on Saturday. The star power of Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Kagiso Rabada was not enough to overcome their less-fancied opponents.
The question then is: Will it be any different this time around?
✨🏏 The field is set, and the Proteas are ready! Join us in sending good vibes to our @ProteasMen as they represent 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 on the world stage! #TeamSA #ForMyCountry pic.twitter.com/KGaHI4fByx
— Team South Africa (@OfficialTeamRSA) June 3, 2024
Proteas bowlers back to their best
The answer is far less straight-forward than chasing down a victory target of 246 in 43 overs - the score the Proteas came up some 38 run short of in last year’s World Cup.
On Monday in their T20 World Cup opener, the Proteas were at their best on a bowler-friendly pitch in New York against Sri Lanka, dismissing their opponents for just 77.
Anrich Nortje returned to form with incredible figures of 4/7, as the Sri Lankan batsmen looked at sea against the pace of the fiery fast bowler, who has made a slow return from injury over the last year.
As good as Nortje was, another notable bowling performance was from Ottneil Baartman. In his T20 World Cup debut, the 31-year-old picked up a wicket with his first delivery of the tournament before returning miserly figures of 1/9 in his four overs.
The chase of the tiny target, however, was not totally convincing from the Proteas as they needed 16.2 overs to claim victory with four wickets down.
Whether it was more down to the drop-in pitch in New York is debatable, but it certainly seems lower scores can be expected at the venue which will be used again for the clash between South Africa and The Netherlands.
In Dallas, Texas, on Tuesday the Netherlands bowled minnows Nepal out for 106 and also took their time in chasing down their victory target before claiming a four-wicket win with eight balls remaining.
It means the two sides had fairly similar outings in their tournament openers, and the Dutch are undoubtedly a bogey team for the Proteas which could mean a tight contest could be on the cards again.
The Proteas should have the firepower to see off their Dutch opponents, but that was also the case in their previous two World Cup encounters. Whether it’s third time lucky for the Proteas, remains to be seen.