Hosts USA will clash with South Africa to kickstart the Super 8 stage in North Sound in Antigua from Wednesday. South Africa have been lucky to find themselves in the Super 8 despite a poor performance by their batters so far in the tournament. The team has not even crossed 120 once in the competition and have the second-worst batting average of 18 amongst the eight teams in the Super 8. 

They would have lost to Bangladesh and Nepal but for their brilliance in the bowling unit. They were also in dire straits against the Netherlands. While the bowlers have been the heroes for the Proteas so far in this World Cup, the batters have been much below par with just one individual fifty in the competition. 

USA, on the other hand, have been the surprise packages of the tournament. They stunned Pakistan in the Group Stage and have played an aggressive brand of cricket. The contest on Wednesday will be between the might of the South African bowling and USA's batting.

HEADER: LAST 5 MATCHES

SOUTH AFRICA - LWWWW

USA - LWWLA

THE LIKELY PLAYING XIs FOR SOUTH AFRICA & USA

South Africa are expected to go in with an unchanged XI at Antigua. The USA might make a couple of changes. Skipper Monank Patel will come in for Shayan Jahangir and Nosthush Kenjige might replace Shadley van Schalkwyk.

South Africa likely XI

Batters - Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller

All-Rounders - Marco Jansen

Wicketkeeper - Quinton de Kock

Bowlers - Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ottneil Baartman, Tabraiz Shamsi

USA likely XI

Batters - Steven Taylor, Andries Gous, Aaron Jones

All-Rounders - Corey Anderson, Harmeet Singh, Nitish Kumar

Wicketkeeper - Monank Patel

Bowlers - Ali Khan, Saurabh Netravalkar, Nosthush Kenjige, Jasdeep Singh

Statistical Performance (South Africa)

1. DAVID MILLER

David Miller is South Africa's leading run-getter in this World Cup and the only one who has registered a half-century. He rescued South Africa from 12 for 4 against the Netherlands scoring an unbeaten match-winning 59.

DAVID MILLER IN 2024 T20 WORLD CUP

INNINGS - 4

RUNS - 101

AVERAGE - 50.5

STRIKE RATE - 96.2

50-PLUS - 1

2. ANRICH NORTJE

Anrich Nortje is in red-hot form in the tournament and he is the leading wicket-taker for South Africa with 9 wickets in 4 matches at a stunning average of 7.8!

ANRICH NORTJE IN 2024 T20 WORLD CUP

INNINGS - 4

WICKETS - 9

STRIKE RATE - 10.6

ECONOMY RATE - 4.4

AVERAGE - 7.8

Players who can make a Difference (South Africa)

1. Heinrich Klaasen

Klaasen is widely regarded as the most destructive finisher in white-ball cricket in the world. He is particularly severe against spin and has a strike rate of 151.2 against the slower bowlers. Klaasen was in blistering form in the IPL where he had a strike rate of 238 in the death overs.

2. Tristan Stubbs

Stubbs is another devastating South African batter capable of annihilating any bowling attack in the world. Stubbs was in imperial form in IPL 2024 where he blasted 378 runs in just 198 deliveries at a strike rate of 191. Stubbs has a strike rate of 211 in the final 4 overs in all T20 cricket.

Statistical Performance (USA)

1. AARON JONES

Aaron Jones will be the batter to watch out for in the USA. He slammed a brilliant unbeaten 94 off just 40 deliveries against Canada in his team's opening fixture in the tournament in Dallas. Jones is the highest scorer for USA in the tournament.

AARON JONES IN 2024 T20 WORLD CUP

INNINGS - 3

RUNS - 141

AVERAGE - 141

STRIKE RATE - 160.2

50-PLUS - 1

2. COREY ANDERSON

Former New Zealand all-rounder, Corey Anderson, will be the other dangerous player in the USA XI. Anderson is a veteran in the format with 649 runs in 31 T20Is at a strike rate of 130.3. Anderson held the record for the fastest hundred in ODI history (for New Zealand, off 36 deliveries) before it was broken by AB de Villiers. He is also a useful medium-pacer.

COREY ANDERSON IN 2024 T20 World Cup

INNINGS - 2

RUNS - 18

AVERAGE - 18

STRIKE RATE - 105.9

50-PLUS - 0

Players who can make a Difference (USA)

1. Andries Gous

Andries Gous is a solid batter at number 3 who showcased his prowess with a 46-ball 65 against Canada in USA’s opening fixture in the tournament at Dallas. Gous has already scored 263 runs in just 9 matches for the USA at an average of 29 and strike rate of 147.

2. Harmeet Singh

Slow left-arm orthodox, Harmeet Singh, was the most restrictive bowler for the USA against Canada and will be key in the middle-overs’ phase especially on helpful tracks in the tournament. Born in Mumbai, Harmeet is a line and length bowler who stifles the opposition batters and chokes the run-flow in the 7-16 phase of play. He has an economy of 6.7 in T20I cricket.

Team Head to Head

South Africa and USA have never faced each other in a T20I.

Players Head to Head

1. ANRICH NORTJE vs LHB IN 2024 T20 WORLD CUP

INNINGS - 3

BALLS FACED - 12

RUNS SCORED - 2

WICKETS - 5

Anrich Nortje has been sensational with the new ball against left-handed batters in the tournament. It will be an interesting battle between him and Steven Taylor in the powerplay.

2. AARON JONES vs SPIN IN 2024 T20 WORLD CUP

INNINGS - 2

BALLS FACED - 30

RUNS SCORED - 79

WICKETS - 0

Aaron Jones has a stunning record against spin in the tournament. He has a breathtaking strike rate of 263 against the spinners without getting dismissed even once. His exploits include nine sixes.

3. HEINRICH KLAASEN vs SPIN IN T20Is

INNINGS - 30

BALLS FACED - 225

RUNS SCORED - 338

WICKETS - 9

Heinrich Klaasen has had a quiet tournament and is due for a big one. He is widely regarded as one of the most destructive finishers in white-ball cricket in the world. Klaasen has a strike rate of 150 vs spin in T20I cricket.

Venue and Pitch

The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound in Antigua has hosted four matches in the tournament with the team batting second coming out victorious in three. Not surprisingly, the captain winning the toss has elected to chase on three occasions. The probability of winning the match after winning the toss is 50%. The highest score at the venue in this tournament is 153 while the average score is 94.

The pitch in Antigua has offered a lot of purchase to both, pace and spin. While the fast bowlers have an average of 19.5, strike rate of 14.8 and economy of 7.9, spinners have fared even better with an average of 19.2, strike rate of 14 and economy of 8.2. The wicket has true bounce and carry with value for shot-making. England chased down Oman's 47 in just 3.1 overs in Antigua in the group stage. There is only a 7% chance of rain on Wednesday while the mean temperature is expected to be around 29 degrees.

Match Prediction

South Africa will start favourites against USA. They have a phenomenal batting line-up which has been below-par in the tournament thus far - watch out for Klaasen and Markram in the encounter. They also have a brilliant bowling up with variety in pace and spin. USA will need to surprise South Africa and take the attack to their bowlers but also not be reckless against the new ball. If they can preserve their wickets in the first six overs, they might be able to challenge the Proteas. However, based on the relative strength of both the teams, South Africa have a 75% chance of victory.

Fantasy XI

Our fantasy XI includes 8 players from South Africa and 3 from USA. Anrich Nortje will be lethal with the new ball while Shamsi will control the middle overs. Rabada will be the specialist in the death overs. Stubbs and Gous will form a good opening pair while Klaasen and Miller will provide the fireworks in the slog overs. Our backup players include Steven Taylor as batter, Keshav Maharaj as the all-rounder and Saurabh Netravalkar as the bowler. Nortje is the best option for captain as he is in tremendous wicket-taking form in the tournament. Miller is a good choice as vice-captain as he is in fine form with the bat.

FANTASY XI FOR SOUTH AFRICA vs USA

Wicketkeeper: ANDRIES GOUS

Batters: DAVID MILLER (VC), HEINRICH KLAASEN, AARON JONES, TRISTAN STUBBS

All-rounders: MARCO JANSEN, COREY ANDERSON, AIDEN MARKRAM

Bowlers: ANRICH NORTJE (C), KAGISO RABADA, TABRAIZ SHAMSI

BACKUP PLAYERS:

BATTER - STEVEN TAYLOR

BOWLER - SAURABH NETRAVALKAR

ALL-ROUNDER - KESHAV MAHARAJ.

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