USA VS SA SUPER EIGHT MATCH 1

Right then, the first game of the Super Eight stage is done and dusted but it is just the start of what looks to be a very closely-fought contest for those semifinal spots. Next up, reigning champions England go up against an in-form West Indies side at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia in a star-studded match up. That game will be played on Thursday, 20 June at 6 am IST (12.30 am GMT) but you can tune in to our build-up much sooner. Till then, take care and goodbye!

The victorious skipper of South Africa, Aiden Markram is up for a chat. He says Andries Gous and Harmeet Singh played well and gave a hard time but they’ll learn from this and will look to win more comprehensively. Says that at one point USA were 70-80 for five and had the bowling been a bit more disciplined the result would have looked something different. Adds that there is always room for improvement but the wicket got a bit better to bat on in the second half of the chase but they did well in the end to win this. Mentions that the time Quinton de Kock spent in the middle gives them a massive boost as he can change the course of any game.

The captain of USA, Aaron Jones says that they aren't disappointed but it is hard to swallow this defeat and could have been more disciplined with the ball. Adds that they have a lot of talent in the team and if they play well, they can beat any side. Mentions that they need to be a lot more disciplined and they will go back to the drawing and come back hard. Adds that he is happy to go to Barbados as he knows the conditions well.

Quinton de Kock is the Player Of The Match for his splendid batting performance. He is up for a quick chat and says he feels good to spend some time in the middle and the wicket helped as this was a better surface to bat on and not that tricky. Adds that he managed to take advantage of the shorted boundary and that helped. Mentions that they have played on some tricky tracks but it is nice to get such a pitch and they’ll be looking to build up from hereon. Closes by saying that they have got the big boys to play against now and they’ll need more runs and an even better performance to advance to the knock-out stage.

The Presentation ceremony...

Earlier in the game, Aaron Jones put South Africa into bat after winning the toss in the hopes of some early wickets but this backfired as after getting rid of Reeza Hendricks early on, the USA bowlers were taken to the cleaners by Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram. The pair never let their foot off the pedal and kept going hard at the bowlers. They added 110 runs as de Kock brought up a brilliant fifty but Markram got out on 46. The Proteas lost de Kock as well but managed to stitch together another partnership as Heinrich Klaasen and Tristan Stubbs stepped up and the former was more of the aggressor. Stubbs played a few too many shots but did end the innings on a high. Saurabh Netravalkar was yet again at the forefront of the USA attack, picking up wickets and whilst remaining highly economical. Harmeet Singh was another on who picked up a couple of wickets without conceding many runs but the rest of the bowlers were taken to the cleaners. In reply, USA fell 18 short in what was a topsy-turvy chase.

Almost another feather in the cap for USA but that slump in the batting after the Powerplay has cost them dearly here. Needing 195 for the win, they lost Steven Taylor after he made a quick start but the next four batters that came in scored a total of just 23 runs. Andries Gous was going great guns at one end and needed a partner and he got it in the form of Harmeet Singh. Together, the pair put on 91 runs in a remarkable stand and that left-hand, right-hand combination proved to be quite destructive. Harmeet got out in the 19th over and that was a crucial blow to the co-hosts but Gous remained on a stellar 80 off just 47 balls against the country of his origin and his knock will be remembered as one of the fines in USA's history so far.

What an enthralling contest but in the end, South Africa have reigned supreme and become the first team to register a win in the Super 8s of the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. USA gave it their all and almost pulled off another huge win but have to settle for second-best here. South Africa had the runs on the board but it felt like they should have got more at the backend of their innings. Their frontline pacers weren't great to start with but Kagiso Rabada managed to pick up an early wicket. They built on it after the Powerplay and had the opposition reeling at the halfway mark as Anrich Nortje and Keshav Maharaj came into the mix. Tabraiz Shamsi picked up a wicket off his first ball to pile on further misery but then came the counter punch from USA and for a while, South Africa didn't have much of an answer. Shamsi conceded 22 runs in the 18th over and left the door ajar for USA but Rabada bowled a fine 19th over and made sure that his team didn't end up on the losing side.

That's it, it's all over! Fuller on off, Jessy Singh drills this to mid off for no run. South Africa get over the line as they defeat USA by 18 runs.

Full and wide outside off, Andries Gous slices this towards deep third for a single.

FOUR! On a length following the batter to his leg, Andries Gous swings and manges to slice this bumping just in front of Kagiso Rabada at short third and evading him for a boundary.

Fuller on off, Andries Gous drills this powerfully but straight back to the bowler. And that should be game, set and match for South Africa here.

Back of a length outside off, Jessy Singh punches this to sweeper cover for one. Four sixes needed off the final 4 balls for USA.

Good length in the line of stumps, Andries Gous pushes this to extra-cover and surprisingly takes the single. The best chance for USA to win this was with Andries Gous playing all the deliveries of this over.

Who will bowl the final over? It will be Anrich Nortje and he has 25 runs to play with. Can Andries Gous pull off something remarkably special here? Let's find out.

Kagiso Rabada may have won his side this game with a sensational over. Good length outside off and slower too, Jessy Singh swings and misses. Kagiso Rabada gives away just 2 off the 19th and takes a wicket as well.

Full and wide outside off, Andries Gous slices this to deep point for another single.