North Sound: In a thrilling opening match of the T20 World Cup Super Eights stage, Quinton de Kock’s explosive half-century led South Africa to an 18-run victory over a resilient United States team on Wednesday at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
After being put in to bat, the Proteas set a formidable total of 194-4 in their allotted 20 overs. De Kock, South Africa’s leading run-scorer in T20 internationals, dazzled with a quickfire 74 off 40 balls, including seven fours and five sixes. This marked his best performance of the tournament, significantly improving on his previous highest score of 20 against Sri Lanka.
Skipper Aiden Markram also contributed a crucial 46 from 32 balls, hitting four boundaries and a six. Together, De Kock and Markram added 110 runs for the second wicket, propelling South Africa to a strong position at 101-1 by the halfway mark of their innings. Heinrich Klaasen (36 not out) and Tristan Stubbs (20 not out) further boosted the total with an unbeaten 53-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
The United States’ response started brightly, reaching 50 runs within the first five overs. However, they struggled to maintain momentum against South Africa’s disciplined pace-spin attack. Kagiso Rabada was instrumental, claiming 3-18 from his four overs, including the crucial wickets of Steven Taylor (24) and Nitish Kumar (8).
American hopes were severely dented when skipper Aaron Jones, who had scored an unbeaten 94 in the first-round win over Canada, fell for a duck. Jones edged a delivery from Keshav Maharaj to De Kock, lasting just five balls.
Andries Gous and Harmeet Singh mounted a spirited fightback for the USA, adding 91 runs for the sixth wicket. Gous remained unbeaten with a splendid 80 off 47 balls, featuring five fours and five sixes. Harmeet Singh played a quickfire 38 off 22 balls, hitting two fours and three sixes. Their partnership reignited hopes of a dramatic upset when Gous hit three sixes in the 18th over off Tabraiz Shamsi, leaving the USA needing 28 runs from the last 12 balls.
However, Rabada’s penultimate over proved decisive, conceding only two runs and dismissing Harmeet Singh. This left the USA with an insurmountable task in the final over, ultimately finishing at 176-6.
Despite the defeat, the USA showed commendable resilience, especially after their stunning victory over former champions Pakistan in the first round. For South Africa, the win provided a solid start to their Super Eights campaign, with standout performances from both their batsmen and bowlers.
Scoreboard:
South Africa:
- Q. de Kock c Jahangir b H. Singh 74
- R. Hendricks c Anderson b Netravalkar 11
- A. Markram c Khan b Netravalkar 46
- D. Miller c&b H. Singh 0
- H. Klaasen not out 36
- T. Stubbs not out 20
- Extras: 7
- Total: 194-4 (20 overs)
- Fall of wickets: 1-16 (Hendricks), 2-126 (de Kock), 3-126 (Miller), 4-141 (Markram)
- Bowling: Netravalkar 4-0-21-2, Khan 4-0-45-0, J. Singh 2-0-36-0, Kenjige 3-0-29-0, H. Singh 4-0-24-2, Taylor 2-0-21-0, Anderson 1-0-17-0
USA:
- S. Taylor c Klaasen b Rabada 24
- A. Gous not out 80
- N. Kumar c Stubbs b Rabada 8
- A. Jones c de Kock b Maharaj 0
- C. Anderson b Nortje 12
- S. Jahangir lbw Shamsi 3
- H. Singh c Stubbs b Rabada 38
- J. Singh not out 2
- Extras: 9
- Total: 176-6 (20 overs)
- Fall of wickets: 1-33 (Taylor), 2-53 (Kumar), 3-56 (Jones), 4-71 (Anderson), 5-76 (Jahangir), 6-167 (H. Singh)
- Bowling: Jansen 3-0-32-0, Markram 1-0-13-0, Rabada 4-0-18-3, Maharaj 4-0-24-1, Nortje 4-0-37-1, Shamsi 4-0-50-1
Result: South Africa won by 18 runs.