In the Super 8, South Africa registered an 18-run win over USA in Antigua, their fifth win at the ongoing T20 World Cup which equals their longest winning run in the history of the tournament. Chasing a steep 195, the USA showed the stomach for a fight and were into the game up until the beginning of the 19th over, when South Africa stepped up to the plate to came out trumps in a hard-fought game.
United States found themselves at the receiving end of Quinton de Kock’s fireworks. Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen played handy knocks too as the Proteas posted a total of 194/4 after United States won the toss and opted to field. Captain Aaron Jones reasoned that it looked like a good wicket so he wanted the seamers to exploit first, and Saurabh Netravalkar actually vindicated the call by removing Reeza Hendricks cheaply.
The opener was stepping out quite a bit to up the ante, but Netravalkar is smart with his lengths. He spotted Reeza dance down the pitch and dragged the length back. He went through the lofted shot but only sliced it off the bottom of the bat. The mishit went so high in the air and swirled a bit but the experienced Corey Anderson managed to grab the ball at mid-off.
However, de Kock and Markram shared an impressive 110 run partnership to set the platform for an ominous total. Even though Harmeet Singh brought USA back into the game with two wickets in two balls, Klaasen and Tristan Stubbs went on to add 53* off 30 balls to apply the finishing touches to South Africa’s innings.
In hot pursuit, scoring 73 runs off the last five overs wasn’t exactly impossible for USA. The pitch had played better than many expected and Tabraiz Shamsi, despite the turn and bounce at his disposal, was leaking runs. It took an amazing over from Kagiso Rabada for SA to tilt the scales, with the penultimate over not just going for 2 runs but also witnessing the end of a 91-run stand between Andries Gous and Harmeet Singh. Gous remained unbeaten on 80* off 47 but it proved inadequate in the end.
The Proteas have prevailed in an humdinger 🇿🇦
Kagiso Rabada's heroics with the ball help South Africa register their first win in the Super Eight stage 🙌#T20WorldCup | #USAvSA | 📝: https://t.co/B9ixaLfSqV pic.twitter.com/oFpYXt1F6S
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) June 19, 2024
