South Africa maintain their unbeaten run in the T20 World Cup following their seven-run victory over defending champions England at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium on Friday.
England was chasing a relatively easy 164 to win, but some excellent bowling and fielding from South Africa had them down to 61-4 when Harry Brook (53), along with Liam Livingstone (33), combined for 78 runs to take them to 139-5 in the eighteenth over.
To end a 37-ball innings that included seven fours, South Africa skipper Aiden Markram held a spectacular diving catch over his shoulder as he ran back from mid-off when Brook chipped a slower ball from fast bowler Nortje with England requiring 14 off the last over.
After hitting a four off the next two balls, Sam Curran declined a single to put lower-order batsman Jofra Archer on strike.
England concluded at 156-6 after they required nine off two balls, but Curran could only manage a single, giving Archer an impossible assignment off the final ball.
South Africa, who is sometimes accused of “choking” at important tournaments, put on a great performance under pressure, and it moved them one step closer to a semi-final spot.
“Getting to those last three overs and it looks like to odds are against you, to hang in there and get the win shows a lot of skill, but it comes from a lot deeper than that,” said Markram. “Fighting spirit really helped us today.
“We are getting closer to the complete game. We are not there yet but we are on the right track.”
England captain Jos Buttler said: “Brook and Livingstone had an excellent partnership there to take us so close.
“At one stage we were favourites but T20 cricket is never that simple, and credit to South Africa for closing it out.”
He added: “We know we’re still in it. We played well today, we just didn’t quite get over the line.”
While fellow England opener Buttler managed just 17 before falling to left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, who also removed Jonny Bairstow in a magnificent performance of 2-32, Proteas paceman Kagiso Rabada removed the in-form Phil Salt for 11.
“I’d say it was lost in the powerplay,” Buttler said. “Quinton de Kock came out and played with really good intent and we couldn’t really match that.
“I think we were about 20 behind them at the end of our first six (overs).”
After being put to bat, South Africa raced to 69-0 in just seven overs.
In the fourth over, De Kock hammered fast bowler Archer for twenty-one runs, including two consecutive sixes off the same delivery.
However, he was beautifully caught off Archer for 65 by the leaping wicketkeeper Buttler, capping an innings of 38 balls that included four fours and four sixes.
However, the third umpire’s decision disregarded England’s belief that they had removed De Kock for 58. In a close game, Mark Wood had made a crucial error by grassing a low catch in the deep.
After De Kock was removed, South Africa collapsed, losing three wickets for twenty-one runs. At the non-striker’s end, Buttler beautifully run out big-hitting Heinrich Klaasen with a direct knock on the stumps.
However, David Miller’s quick 43 enabled South Africa win 163-6, and that was sufficient.
Photo by T20 World Cup Twitter
