Brevis, bowlers make short work of UAE
Dewald Brevis warmed up nicely with some monstrous sixes as South Africa hardly broke sweat during a walk-in-the-park six-wicket victory over United Arab Emirates in their final group league fixture of the T20 World Cup on Wednesday. Chasing a target of 123, the Proteas romped home in 13.1 overs with Aiden Markram smashing 28 off 11 balls to set the stage for young Brevis who also helped himself to a 36 off 25 balls.
Ryan Rickleton hit some lusty sixes to get 30 off 16 balls in an all-round effort. With the big Super Eights match against India coming up on Sunday, South Africa needed Brevis to fire, and he did have a good session out there in the middle. The pull off a bouncer sent down by wrong-footed left-arm seamer Muhammad Jawadullah was a treat for the eyes.
Brevis quickly went onto the backfoot and pulled it from above eyeline into the top tier of the square leg stand. When left-arm spinner Haider Ali tossed one outside the off-stump, Brevis thumped it over extra cover into the Hill B of the Feroz Shah Kotla stands. The two shots were indicators that Brevis was in prime form. He then picked up a slower one from Mohammed Arfan to dispatch it into the cow corner as South Africa finished proceedings in a jiffy.
Earlier, young Alishan Sharafu led a charmed life with double reprieves but Anrich Nortje, playing his first match of the tournament, bowled quick and straight to restrict UAE to 122 for 6 in stipulated 20 overs. With Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen rested before the India game in Ahmedabad on Sunday, Nortje (2/28 in 4 overs) and Corbin Bosch (3/12 in 4 overs) bowled short and quick consistently as the UAE batting unit never really looked in control of the situation.
While Sharafu managed a 38-ball 45 with five fours and a six, he was lucky due to the ‘butter-fingered’ Proteas fielders, who dropped two catches. With conditions overcast and floodlights being put on, Aiden Markram was spot on in opting to bowl and unleash his pace battery on the minnows by making use of the underlying moisture.
Although skipper Muhammad Waseem (22 off 12 balls) and Aryansh Sharma moved a bit from the line of quick deliveries and got a few boundaries in the process using the pace, it was left-arm spinner George Linde, who got the first breakthrough. Waseem went to sweep a much fuller delivery and was left plumb in-front. Once the powerplay got over, UAE batters, save Sharafu’s attacking strokes, could never come to terms with the pace and bounce on offer.
Sohaib Khan, who had back-to-back half-centuries against Canada and Afghanistan, had no clue when Bosch let one fly and all he could do was nick it to Quinton de Kock behind the stumps. How UAE wilted could be gauged from the fact that they hit 10 boundaries in all, in which Sharafu and Waseem hit nine cumulatively. Just when the UAE innings ended, steady drizzle forced the ground staff to cover the centre square.
