The United States put the seasoned South Africans under tremendous stress in their T20 World Cup Super Eight match here on Wednesday and the Proteas skipper Aiden Markram conceded Andries Gous made life difficult for his side.

Gous’s audacious strokeplay saw him score an unbeaten 80 off just 47 deliveries (5x4s, 5x6s) and kept the South Africans on tenterhooks till the last over. Chasing 195 for victory, USA fell short by 18 runs, but not before giving the Proteas a mighty scare.