On June 21, England and South Africa squared off in Match 45 of the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Daren Sammy Stadium in St. Lucia. Having won the toss, England decided to bowl first. With an 86-run partnership for the first wicket between Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks, South Africa was off to a fantastic start. After De Kock left after reaching 65 off 38, the Proteas’ run rate dropped. South Africa scored a respectable 163 for 6 thanks to David Miller’s 43 runs off of 28 balls.
With no batter scoring more than 20 runs, England lost Phil Salt, Johny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, and Moeen Ali in the chase, managing just 61 runs in 10 overs. Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone provided some relief for England, scoring 53 and 33 points, respectively. Anrich Nortje picked Brook to limit Sam Curran when England needed 14 runs from the last over; Curran gave up just six runs, and South Africa won by seven runs.
De Kock De Kock ended up being the game’s differentiator as Hendricks contributed just 19 runs in their 86-run opening partnership. It’s a very different surface than the night games. To start the fourth over, he was all over Jofra Archer, hitting him for two straight sixes and a boundary. In the context of the game, this meant that South Africa scored 61 runs in the powerplay compared to England’s 41.
“There’s no denying that the pitch performs differently during night games. Compared to the games played at night, this surface is entirely different. An additional touch of bounce was present early on. Game each game, I attempt to maintain my confidence. During the powerplay, we bowled really nicely and under control. De Kock commented, “It’s a good effort from us to be able to defend 160 on a decent wicket,” following his Player of the Match honour.
Here’s how ‘X’ users reacted to South Africa’s win over ENG in Match 45:
Quinton De Kock in his last ICC Events:
In ODI WC 2023 – 594 runs, 59.4 ave, 107 strike rate, 4 hundreds.
In T20 WC 2024 – 187 runs, 147.2 strike rate.
In both Tournaments, De Kock is the highest runs scorer for South Africa – Incredible, De Kock. 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZKYAfpTeIe
— Tanuj Singh (@ImTanujSingh) June 21, 2024
England talks about sportsmanship, gentleman’s game play fair and all but just now Wood claimed a catch which he knew wasn’t a clean catch. Embarrassing. #ENGvsSA pic.twitter.com/aMSyClvylM
— M (@anngrypakiistan) June 21, 2024
All the hype around Klaasen & Stubbs before the world cup because of IPL
But now David Miller showing who is the real boss in every single game 🔥#SAvsENG #ENGvSA #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/0KoEiBCk0N
— Prateek (@prateek_295) June 21, 2024
SA : we need someone in the middle order to absorb the collapse but also to score runs at a good pace. That too consistently.
David Miller every single time : pic.twitter.com/Q2bsqnjTro
— TinTin (@pranit_19) June 21, 2024
What a catch!!! 🥶
Buttler with a one handed screamer to get rid of Quinton de Kock. Some respite for Jofra Archer and England.#ENGvSA | #T20WorldCup🏏 pic.twitter.com/cXASm7uZEo— Sourabh Rana (@sourabh9820) June 21, 2024
𝙄𝙣𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙗 𝙗𝙮 𝙅𝙤𝙨 💥
Jofra Archer has a sigh of relief as he gets the dangerous QDK 👏🏻
What will be South Africa’s total in the clash of 𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐢𝐱 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬?
𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝟖 👉 #ENGvSA |LIVE NOW |#T20WorldCupOnStar (only available in India) pic.twitter.com/PJuwrBnbgC
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 21, 2024
A brilliant comeback after conceding 21 runs in the first over by Jofra Archer! 💥 pic.twitter.com/zIeMtoCYxo
— Faiz Fazel (@theFaizFazel) June 21, 2024
Keshav maharaj on fire 🔥
2 wickets in 2overs #ENGVSSA pic.twitter.com/SD0PHTyBNc— Maxim Viegas (@VickyDsouz82460) June 21, 2024
England 🏴 looks in a hurry and doing it in style !!
Brook and Livingstone !! 🔥 🔥 #ENGvsSA #T20WorldCup
— Cricket Conundrum 🌐 🏏 (@CricConundrum) June 21, 2024
Livingston and Brook🔥🔥 Very impressive
— Grumpy Periyavar 2.0 (@periyavar_2) June 21, 2024
WHAT A FIFTY BY HARRY BROOK !!!
– Harry brook shasmed fifty just 34 balls now England 62/4 but brook brilliant knock under pressure!!!!!#ENGvsSA pic.twitter.com/rhOgia0y2L
— Cricketman (@Manojy9812) June 21, 2024
That Markram Catch matched with Kapil Dev’s catch in 83 WC #EngVsSA
— Manoj (@25_Imanu) June 21, 2024
What a come back by South Africa 🇿🇦 they won with the hardest teamwork 👏 #EngvsSA #cricket English lost with 5 wickets in hand .. #t20USA
— Zeeshan Ahmad (@UaeZahmad) June 21, 2024
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