India seal T20 World Cup semi final spot as Netherlands beat South Africa

India have qualified for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup after Netherlands defeated South Africa on Sunday. The Men-in-Blue are in the semis even before they play their final Super 12 match against Zimbabwe later today. India’s qualification came following a shock defeat of South Africa against Netherlands. 

Netherlands, batting first, put 158 runs on the board in their 20 overs at the loss of 4 wickets. South Africa could only manage 145 runs in their overs at the loss of 8 wickets. 

The winner of the Pakistan versus Bangladesh match will qualify for the semis. South Africa have been all but knocked out. 

For the Men-in-Orange, it was Colin Ackermann’s splendid 41 of 26 balls that took them to a competitive total. Later, the Netherlands bowling attack did well to restrict the Proteas. 

Netherlands will see their victory as a seminal moment in their cricketing history. The win against South Africa comes only three days after the team defeated Zimbabwe. 

While India of course will be happy that not much is left in the afternoon’s match, Pakistan and Bangladesh also have reason to celebrate. If South Africa were to have won the match against Netherlands, the Pakistan-Bangladesh match would have served no purpose. 

In one of the most poignant moments, Johannesburg-born Roelof van der Merwe who represented South Africa in two T20 World Cups (2009 and 2010) took Netherlands to victory by taking a match winning catch to dismiss David Miller off Brandon Glover.