T20 World Cup 2024: SA vs USA, Match 41 Highlights: Unmissable video recap, turning points, match analysis, stats, and more

The Super Eights campaign of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 began with South Africa locking horns against the United States of America at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound in Antigua on Wednesday, June 19. The USA skipper Aaron Jones, acting as the leader in Monank Patel's absence, called it correctly at the toss, and chose to bowl first. Being invited to set a total, the South African side got off to a blistering start, smashing 64/1 in the powerplay.

Openers Reeza Hendricks and Quinton de Kock gave a settled start, and even when the former departed, the southpaw kept hitting his strokes freely. Scoring 74 off just 40 balls, de Kock laced his knock with seven fours and five towering sixes, wherein he also took on Jasdeep Singh for 28 runs in an over. Apart from the stumper-batter, skipper Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen also made handy contributions, making the scoreline read 194/4 at the end of the innings.

Also Check: Quinton de Kock smashes Jasdeep Singh for 28 runs in his first over

For USA, Saurabh Netravalkar was the pick of the bowlers, ending with 2/21 off his four overs. Netravalkar was supported by Harmeet Singh (2/24), who also delivered well and kept things tight from his end. But this wasn't enough as the onus was now upon the American batters to breach past the first innings' total in the all-important clash. The chase began with an ideal start, as the required run-rate was kept in check. However, ace pacer Kagiso Rabada bagged a couple of wickets in each of his two overs inside the powerplay, as USA were 53/2 after six overs.

Skipper Jones stepped in, but departed shortly following a four-ball duck, getting caught behind by de Kock off Keshav Maharaj in the seventh over. The situation only worsened after Corey Anderson followed suit with a run-a-ball 12 in the tenth over, bowled by Anrich Nortje. It was Andries Gous who kept runs flowing from an end before Harmeet too joined the onslaught.

But it seemed that the lack of intent from other batters piled the pressure a little too much for the Americans, as the Proteas. While the USA opener remained unbeaten, the attempt to reach the target was unsuccessful nonetheless. Rabada was the wrecker-in-chief with the ball, getting three wickets while giving away just 18 runs off his four. Meanwhile, the Markram & Co got their Super Eights off to a flyer with a 18-run win, boosting their confidence by some margin. The South African opener de Kock was adjudged the Player of the Match for his blitz in the first innings.

Meanwhile, the social media users did their bit by reacting to the thrilling cricketing action, citing their take on X (formerly Twitter)

Let's take a look at how 'X' reacted to South Africa's win against the USA in Super Eights: