T20 World Cup: Andries Gous’ (centre) unbeaten 80 handed South Africa a mighty scare in North Sound. (AP)
Placed in the Group of Death, South Africa began the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup with an 18-run win as the United States of America stretched them to the limit on Wednesday. Chasing 195 for a win at North Sound (Antigua), inspired by South Africa-born Andries Gous unbeaten 80 off 47 balls, the US were in the game till the 18th over before fast bowler Kagiso Rabada bowled a game-changing 19th over, where he conceded just two runs and took the wicket of Harmeet Singh. The US never recovered from it as the relief in South Africa’s camp in the end said a story in itself.
But before Rabada got the ball in the penultimate over, it was all about Gous. The 30-year-old born and raised in South Africa, played for Free State in their domestic circuit till 2020, moved to the US only in 2021. And against familiar faces in the South Africa ranks, Gous ensured that the US stayed in the chase even though wickets fell around him. After Stevan Taylor’s early push, when US were 53/2, a gripping chase was on. But in the next six overs, the US would drift away, losing three more wickets and scoring just 34 runs. But in Harmeet, Gous found a perfect ally as they brought US back on track with a 91-run standoff just 43 deliveries as South Africa looked shell-shocked before Rabada intervened.
On a day when South Africa’s batting unit showed their might, their bowlers were not up to scratch. After a tight win over Bangladesh and surviving a scare against Nepal – who lost by one run – US nearly pulled off a shocking win. England and the West Indies would be a stern test for South Africa unless they pull up their socks on the bowling front.
Their issues with the ball aside, it was a day on which South Africa’s batsmen fired. Quinton de Kock (74, 40b), who struggled in the US-leg, found form, and so did captain Aiden Markram (46, 32b).
Wickets falling but #AndriesGous stands tall for the USA! 💪🏻
Will Gous, alongside #HarmeetSingh, bring their team back into the game?
𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝟖 👉 #USAvSA | LIVE NOW | #T20WorldCupOnStar (only available in India) pic.twitter.com/wPfVtS0GKW
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 19, 2024
Encountering a batsmen-friendly pitch for the first time in the tournament, South Africa showed glimpses of what their power-packed batting order could do. It wasn’t all easy for South Africa though.
Before Gous, their two other imports from India — left-arm seamer Saurabh Netravalkar and left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh – made it challenging with the ball as well. In their combined quota of eight overs, they conceded only 45 runs and picked up four wickets. But the rest of the US attack failed to complement the duo as South Africa were able to get away everytime they appeared to fall behind. Coming up against the left-right duo of De Kock and Markram after the fall of Reeza Hendricks in the third over, the US attack struggled to alter their lines. It meant, De Kock did majority of his scoring on the leg side with all his five sixes coming between deep square-leg and mid-wicket.
Though David Miller departed for a first ball zero off Harmeet’s bowling, Heinrich Klaasen and Tristan Stubbs ensured South Africa had a strong finish.
Brief Scores: South Africa: 194 for 4 in 20 overs (Quinton de Kock 74, Aiden Markram 46, Heinrich Klaasen 36 n.o.; Saurabh Netravalkar 2/21, Harmeet Singh 2/24) bt USA: 176 for 6 in 20 overs (Andries Gous 80 n.o. Harmeet Singh 38; Kagiso Rabada 3/18).
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