Who will be key for South Africa with the bat at T20 World Cup 2024?

Fans from the United States of America and West Indies have embraced the T20 World Cup 2024, which got underway on June 1st. There has been some thrilling action with a match between Namibia and Oman going to the super over, USA chasing down 195 and Papua New Guinea giving West Indies a run for their money.

Our today’s topic of discussion is South Africa and who could be the key batter for them in the T20 World Cup 2024. South Africa is a side that has never won any ICC trophy and their chase for it continues in this T20 world cup. In the previous edition in 2022, they failed to reach the semifinals in a favourable group and conditions.

The Proteas, led by Aiden Markram, are a part of Group D alongside Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands, and Nepal. South Africa are firm favourites to top the group and advance through to the Super Eight stage. They would hope for a much better campaign than they had down under.

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South Africa’s fixtures

Check out South Africa’s four fixtures in Group D below.

• South Africa vs Sri Lanka – New York – Monday, 3rd June
• South Africa vs Netherlands – New York – Saturday, 8th June, 8:00 PM IST
• South Africa vs Bangladesh – New York – Monday, 10th June, 8:00 PM IST
• South Africa vs Nepal – Kingstown, St Vincent – Saturday, 15th June, 5:00 AM IST

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Upcoming South Africa match

South Africa vs Netherlands

South Africa win: 1.10 (22Bet)
Netherlands win: 8.25 (22Bet)

South Africa will face Netherlands in match no. 16 of the T20 World Cup 2024 at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York on Monday. The Proteas are heavy favourites to win the match at the odds of 1.10 on 22Bet.

Despite being the favourites, South Africa can’t take Netherlands lightly, having lost to them in the 2022 T20 World Cup. They have a more destructive batting line-up on paper and the bowling unit looks potent enough. In their first game of the tournament, South Africa smashed Sri Lanka by six wickets after bowling out the Netherlands for 77.

Netherlands defeated Nepal in their first game, with Tim Pringle and Logan van Beek picking three wickets each, Max O’Dowd scoring a fifty. They have decent quality in the side and if you want to take a punt on them, you can get good returns on 22Bet at 8.25.

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Top South Africa batters since 2023

Check out the top South Africa batters in T20 internationals since 2023.

South Africa have played 12 T20 internationals since the start of 2023 and Reeza Hendricks has been the best performing batter for them. Hendricks has played all 12 of these games and has scored 461 runs at an average of 38 while striking at 163. Reeza has registered four half centuries in this period.

Captain Aiden Markram is the second most successful batter for South Africa in the shorter format since 2023. He has scored 251 runs from nine innings at an average of 36 and strike rate of 156. He hasn’t scored any fifties in this time, with his highest score reading 49.

Quinton de Kock has played seven games during this period, scoring 205 runs at a strike rate of 158. He smashed a century off 44 deliveries in the highest run-chase in T20I cricket last year but apart from that, it’s been a lean run. David Miller has scored 127 runs in six innings while Rassie van der Dussen has 125 runs from five innings.

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Who will be South Africa’s best batter in T20 World Cup 2024?

Speaking about the top contenders to be South Africa’s best batter in T20 World Cup 2024, three players who are favourites among the bookmakers are Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram and Reeza Hendricks. The trio bats in the top three and will naturally get more game-time in the middle.

Quinton de Kock is at the top of the list of contenders to score the most runs for South Africa. The left-hand batter struggled for form throughout the recent IPL season. Following the tournament, de Kock smashed 41 off 17 in one of the games against West Indies. Below are the odds offered by different platforms for QDK to be the top South Africa batter.

• 22Bet – 3.00
• Betwinner – 3.00
• Parimatch – 3.00

You can bet on any of these platforms if you are willing to put your money on de Kock.

Much like de Kock, Aiden Markram had a disastrous campaign in the IPL this year but he remains one of the key batters for the Proteas. Markram is the second leading run-scorer for them since 2023 with 251 runs in T20Is at a strike rate of 156. Markram is batting at number three in this tournament and will have enough opportunities to be the top South Africa batter. You can bet on him on 22Bet at 4.50.

Reeza Hendricks is South Africa’s highest run-getter since last year and is generally very reliable at the top of the order. However, the pitch conditions in this competition could be challenging for him. Betting on Hendricks to be the top South Africa batter would give good returns at 4.50 on Parimatch.

If the T20 World Cup 2024 has shown anything so far, it is that run-scoring hasn’t been easy in these conditions especially for the top order batter. Klaasen bats at number 4-5 but has been the most in-form batter in this line-up, having scored 479 runs in the IPL at an average of 40 and strike rate of 171. This makes Heinrich Klaasen a very attractive option to bet on to be the best South Africa batter at 5.50 odds on Betwinner.