If there is one thing that you do not do in world cricket is win the toss and let South Africa bat first in balanced conditions. Co-hosts USA got a proper taste of that on Wednesday, 19 June when Aiden Markram’s side beat them by 18 runs at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. Playing their first ever Super 8 match, USA felt that they could exploit the windy conditions early in the first innings. While they did start well in the first innings with the wicket of Reeza Hendricks, it soon turned out to be a nightmare when Quinton de Kock took charge of the game.
It is no secret that South Africa batters, especially the top order has really struggled in the group stage of the T20 World Cup 2024. They had a chance to rectify that and led by a superb knock from Quinton de Kock, South Africa managed to post a massive 194 runs in the first innings.
T20 World Cup Coverage | Points Table | T20 World Cup 2024 Schedule | Player Stats
De Kock scored his fifty in just 26 balls, and then continued his rampage to complete a 40-ball 74-run innings. This was de Kock’s best performance in this edition of the tournament, which helped South Africa to post a massive 194-run total. Before this, South Africa’s best batting performance came against Nepal, where they had scored 115 runs.
It could have been a really dominating victory of South Africa if it were not for some spirited bowling and batting from USA in both innings of the game. Saurabh Netravalkar bowled a stunning spell in the first innings, giving away just 21 from his 4 overs and picking 2 wickets. In the chase, USA were terrible outside of the powerplay, but pulled things back once again after the 10th over mark, audaciously smashing premier South Africa bowlers out of the park.
T20 World Cup 2024: USA vs SA Super 8s: Live Updates | Scorecard
Opener Andries Gous took the attack to Anrich Nortje in the 15th over of the game, hitting the pacer for 19 runs. From there it was a landslide for the South African bowlers as spinner Tabraiz Shamsi was taken apart by Andries Gous (80* off 47) and Harmeet Singh (38 off 22).
Required to defend 28 off the final two, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje kept their cool and came up clutch to seal an 18-run win over the spirited USA team.
USA vs SA: 19th Over Makes Difference
Tune In
Source Agencies
