South Africa 194 for 4 (de Kock 74, Netravalkar 2-21, Harmeet 2-24) win USA 176 for 6 (Gush 80*, Rabada 3-18) for 18 runs
Only a matter of time for De Kock
It had to be. After scores of 20, 0, 18 and 10, de Kock, in what could be his last international assignment, finally brought out the big guns. He didn’t hit South Africa’s first boundary – that was Reeza Hendricks’ cover – and waited until the fourth over before he got one right, but when he did, he didn’t stop. De Kock pulled Jasdeep Singh off the middle and then hit him for three consecutive sixes, all with the wind on the leg side. Jasdeep’s first over cost 28 runs, just 10 short of South Africa’s highest Powerplay of the tournament before this match, and put them at 64 for 1 at the end of the pitch’s limitations. De Kock went on to bring up his fifty with a six off Corey Anderson, off the 26th ball he faced and his highest T20 World Cup score: 74.
Catching on the spot. The bowling? It is not always.
The US batting brought them back into the game from Anderson’s excellent judgment to get a skier off the top of Hendricks in the third over to Shayan Jahangir who judged his distance well from the boundary rope at cow corner to end the knock by De Kock. But it was Ali Khan, who dived forward as he ran through the deep backward fence and held on for the grab that could have changed the innings. Aiden Markram was on 46 and hit the last ball of the 15th over in Ali’s direction. He took a stunning result to deny the South African captain a chance to push the score past 200. However, the USA still conceded 53 runs in the last five overs and will not be entirely happy with some of the bowling their. While Netravalkar and Harmeet’s eight overs cost just 45 runs with four wickets and only four fours, the other five bowlers bowled 12 overs for 148 runs, took no wickets and hit nine fours and 10 sixes.
Rabada operated somewhat in the shadows in the T20 World Cup group stage and took just four wickets for 84 runs in four matches. With South Africa considering the use of two specialist spinners, the talk ahead of this match was which of the three seamers to leave out. In form, both Nortje and Ottneil Baartman made strong cases to stay in the line-up ahead of Rabada, but the decision was made to leave Baartman out for the sake of Rabada’s experience. He answered that call by removing a Taylor striker with his third ball, in the fourth over, and seemed to pick up his pace as his spell unfolded. In his next over, Rabada had Nitish Kumar caught at deep square leg off a length ball on the pads to put South Africa ahead with USA 53 for 2 after the Powerplay. He returned to bowl the penultimate over, with the USA needing 28 runs off the last 12 balls, and broke up the partnership that had threatened to take the game away. Goose and Harmeet shared the sixth spot with 91 before Harmeet hit Rabada at full toss to Stubbs at mid-on to depart, along with the USA’s hopes.
Gus keeps part of the house
Welkom’s Andries Gous is from the same place as Dean Elgar and was part of the group of South Africans who accepted offers to play in the Minor League just as the Covid-19 pandemic hit. He made his international debut three months ago and relished the chance to play against the country of his birth and let them have it. He gave himself some time to get his bearings and hit his first boundary off the sixth ball he faced, off Rabada. He sent Marco Jansen for six over long-on and then bowled Nortje, 18 runs off the last four balls of his third over. This included back-to-back sixes. the second was over midwicket and also highlighted Gous’ 33-ball half-century. But he saved the best for the 18th over when he hit Shamsi for back-to-back sixes to keep the USA in the game. 50 were needed from the last three overs and then just 28 from the last two. Gus finished unbeaten in a career-best 80.