The T20I series against England was won by South Africa with a convincing 90-run victory on Sunday at The Rose Bowl in Southampton thanks to their masterful performance (July 31). Reeza Hendricks & Aiden Markram both scored half-centuries, while captain David Miller sparked South Africa to a score of 191/5 with a brisk 22 off 9 in the last over. The spin of South Africa destroyed England’s batting, as Tabraiz Shamsi claimed his first four wickets as the hosts were bowled out for 101 after losing eight wicket to the slower bowlers.
South Africa establishes early gains
Jos Buttler hit a few fours, and Jason Roy scored extra runs thanks to an overthrow. The England captain, though, was removed for 14 as he sliced a catch to short thirdman, giving Keshav Maharaj a wicket in the fourth over. This was the second time the skipper fell during the powerplay. In limited-overs cricket, Roy’s wait for a half-century was made even longer when he was run out by a short ball from Anrich Nortje that he edged to the wicketkeeper. With the exception of Buttler’s two fours, the South African bowlers controlled the scoring, limiting England to just 39 in the powerplay.
Has England’s situation changed?
No. Quick wickets helped South Africa tighten their hold on the contest. England’s fight for limits persisted, and the mounting strain frequently resulted in strikes. After a slow start, Dawid Malan tried to break free but was defeated by Andile Phehlukwayo by handing a catch in the deep. Moeen Ali was dismissed by Markram thanks to a superb diving grab by Tristan Stubbs. As Shamsi claimed his first wicket and England reached 65/5 in the 12th over, Liam Livingstone also had a brief stay, pulling a catch to long-off.
How quickly did they die?
Shamsi was really quick, thank you. Following Sam Curran’s six off the chinaman bowler, David Willey was bowled for a duck after missing a slog-sweep, and Sam Curran was caught at long off. Chris Jordan hit a few boundaries, but Shamsi put a stop to his run by trapping him in front and had Adil Rashid caught on the final ball of his period, concluding with his career-best T20I scoring statistics. With 3.2 overs left in the innings, Jonny Bairstow, who was only watching from the other end, was the last to go when he received a top-edge off Maharaj.
South Africa is led by Markram and Miller in death overs.
Hendricks improved his regularity of boundaries, including three in the fifteenth over from Curran, after hitting five fours to reach fifty. He finally lost to Jordan’s slower delivery, obtaining a top edge as he struggled to cross the finish line. However, England’s reprieve was only temporary since the boundaries kept relocating. Miller hit two consecutive fours off Jordan that went over point on both instances, while Markram was constructing shots off Reece Topley, who was also hit for a boundary by Miller, by reverse-scooping and stepping across to play a whip to the square-leg fence.
