The 1st Super 8 game of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 witnessed a close game between South Africa and USA. South Africa eventually beat USA by 18 runs but the margin doesn’t speak about the valiant effort from the USA team.
USA punched above their weight and rang alarm bells for all the other teams in their group in the Super 8. Batting first on a batter-friendly surface, The Proteas scored 194 runs with top knocks from Quinton De Kock and Aiden Markram.
The southpaw mustered a knock of 74 runs in 40 balls and his knock was peppered with 7 fours and 5 sixes. De Kock deservedly got the player of the match in this game. On the other hand, Aiden Markram scored 46 runs in 32 balls before being dismissed by Saurabh Netravalkar.
The talk of the town, Saurabh Netravalkar, bagged 2 wickets and was the pick of the bowlers for the USA cricket team. He conceded runs at a miserly economy rate of 5.25 and has been setting the benchmark for the USA bowlers.
Harmeet Singh too performed well and took 2 wickets. His scalps included Quinton De Kock and David Miller.
Towards the end of the innings, Heinrich Klaasen scored 36* runs in 22 balls and got support from Tristan Stubbs, who scored 20* runs in just 16 balls.
USA displayed a lot of resilience in their batting
Opener Andries Gous, who was playing against his birth nation, scored 80* runs in 47 balls but failed to receive support from the top-order of USA. The likes of Aaron Jones, Steve Taylor and Nitish Kumar failed to fire on all cylinders and USA fell short by 18 runs.
Andries Gous and Harmeet Singh put on a 91-run partnership, which was the highest 6th-wicket partnership in T20Is.
But Singh was dismissed by Kagiso Rabada and things ended for USA. Kagiso Rabada bagged 3 wickets and was breathing fire in this game.
Despite the loss, USA should be proud of their exemplary performance. Being an associate nation, they not only punched above their weight but also proved that they cannot be shrugged off as ‘minnows’.
South Africa have a 4-match unbeaten streak in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 now and despite some tight finishes, they would be brimming with confidence and momentum.
