ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 commenced yesterday and started with a bang. South Africa locked horns with the USA who are playing their first ever ICC tournament. South Africa pulled off a heist and won the match by 18 runs.
Toss spoiled the result
The match was played in Antigua as it was a flat surface so batting was going to be at its best which happened. The USA had won the toss and opted to bowl first being a day match teams opted to bat but the USA chose to bowl so can we say that they lost the match? If their plan was for chasing then the pitch would have some dryness and slowness to the wicket but it was a clear flat surface.
Quinton De Cock’s absolute carnage
South Africa was invited to bat first so it was an advantage for them to score big runs onboard, and so they did. Out of form, Quinton De Cock scored an absolute half-century but later the knock ended at 74 Quinton loves to play in knockout matches so he was waiting for the right occasion. A perfect start for South Africa took them to 194 runs which was way beyond expected when the USA took charge in the middle over phase and two quick wickets which made South Africa stuck in the middle. Still, skipper Aiden Markram played a crucial knock and the finishing touches by Henrich Klassen took South Africa to a respectable total.
Ups and Downs for USA bowlers
USA had a rollercoaster day with the bowl despite winning the toss they were unable to stop South Africa. The start was quite good they got the wicket of Reeza Hendricks but as soon as Quinton took charge USA was completely out of the match still they managed to dismiss Quinton De Cock and within the next ball, David Miller also got trapped by Harmeet. After Harmeet, it was only Saurabh who took wickets and conceded only 21 runs both took 2 wickets each.
Hard luck for the USA, Gous knock went in vain
So the target for the USA was 195 so the start should be quite aggressive, though the USA gave a solid start they lost two wickets, later wickets started falling and Andries Gous was helpless, still he managed to score 80 runs and he in great form but in death overs, South Africa snatched the victory from USA and won the match by 18 runs, if Andries Gous smashed boundaries at the end USA would have won the match but experienced South Africa knows the pressure in death overs and so that experience helped them.
Great day for South African bowlers
After the successful batting, it’s now bowlers who have the job to do. South Africa too had a slow start with bowling as the USA was on a roll ace pacer Kagiso Rabada managed to bowl an economical spell of 3/18 and Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi managed to pick just 1 wicket but still they bowled quite good. Quinton De Cock was adjourned as Man Of the Match.
Also Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2024: USA Eye Historic Super 8 Berth By Defeating Ireland In A Crunch Match