"If they turn up"- Ricky Ponting warns Aidan Markram's South Africa of Pakistan-like humiliation by USA

Legendary Australian captain Ricky Ponting has backed minnows USA to give a tough fight to South Africa in the first Super Eight clash to be played in Antigua. Among all the teams that have qualified for the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup 2024, USA has been the biggest surprise.

The 17th-ranked T20I team in the world performed exceedingly well in the group stage. They had a tough group with the likes of India, Pakistan, Ireland, and Canada. But USA's win over Pakistan turned the tide in their favour and proved to be beneficial in the end.

They also gave a tough fight to India and had them in trouble when left-arm seamer Saurabh Netravalkar dismissed Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in his opening spell. But India's experience proved to be too much in the end.

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Ricky Ponting backs USA for an upset over South Africa

Ricky Ponting lauded Team USA for their excellent performance in the group stage. During an interaction with the ICC review, Ponting stated that if the USA produces their best cricket, they can cause an upset as South Africa hasn't been up to the mark so far.

"It’s been a great reward for a lot of the hard work they've put in. If they turn up and they play their best, and South Africa are 5 percent off their game, it could go either way. This next phase is going to be even more exciting than what we've seen so far and I can't wait," Ponting said.

Talking about South Africa, Ponting said that they are going to be a difficult team to stop if their batting clicks.

"I had them penciled in as one of the favorites going into the tournament. I still think they're a really dangerous team. If their batting clicks, they will be a dangerous team going forward," the legendary Australian batter claimed.

Dream campaign for USA

USA started its T20 World Cup 2024 campaign by chasing down a score of 195 runs in their opening game against Canada. In this game, vice-captain Aaron Jones smashed a blistering 94* off just 40 balls, and hit 10 sixes in the process.

Following that, they caused one of the biggest upsets in the history of the tournament by defeating Pakistan in the Super Over. Saurabh Netravalkar produced a powerful performance with the ball he picked up 2-18 in four overs. Netravalkar then bowled an excellent Super Over to take the USA to a memorable win.

Although they lost to India, a washed-out fixture against Ireland gave Monank Patel & Co. a crucial point, which was enough for them to secure qualification. India and the USA were the two teams who qualified from Group A.

India topped the group with 7 points while the USA finished second with 5 points. USA's qualification meant bad news for Pakistan as the Men in Green were eliminated from the tournament after the group stage.