England posted a reachable 311 against the Proteas in the World Cup opener at the Oval, writes KHALID MOHIDIN.
The time arrived for the monstrous clash between the World Cup favourites and the Dark Horses of the tournament.
Blue skies hung over The Oval on the morning while the expected overcast conditions were nowhere to be seen, as the sun kissed the green lush outfield at the London ground.
The Proteas got the start they would have wished for, by winning the toss and electing to bowl first.
READ: Proteas bowl first in CWC opener
Du Plessis shocked all by dropping David Miller for Aiden Markram and continued with the element of surprises by opening the bowling with Imran Tahir.
The thought process was to give Jason Roy some trouble, who has a history of struggling against the spinners.
Jonny Bairstow, on the other hand, proved at the IPL that he favours spin. Du Plessis’ bargain paid off but Tahir ironically found Bairstow’s edge with a beautiful delivery that turned away from the right-hander. The stadium erupted as Tahir took his lap of celebration in signature fashion.
#ENGvSA – UPDATE:
Imran Tahir struck in the first over for the Proteas to get rid of Jonny Bairstow! England are 7-1 after two overs.
Jason Roy 2* (3)
Joe Root 5* (8)Watch LIVE on @DStv Now >> https://t.co/3wUsZ1pF9y #CWC19 #FuelTheFire pic.twitter.com/hFhRcGJLHS
— SuperSport🏏 (@SuperSportTV) May 30, 2019
Joe Root brought calmness to the crease finding the gap with ease, as he and Roy continued to play their positive brand of cricket, taking on the Proteas young lethal pair of Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada.
They galloped to 60-1 by the end of the powerplay. The pair took England over the 100-run mark, with both batsmen reaching their half-centuries as a big total looked probable.
Phehlukwayo proved his value to South Africa by removing Roy (54 off 53 balls) who top-edge to Du Plessis at mid-off in the 19th over. The Proteas skipper brought in Rabada the following over who struck instantly. He drew Root (51 off 59 balls) into a drive but guided a full delivery to JP Duminy at backward point.
The momentum now shifted back to the Proteas who reduced England to 112-3 after 20 overs.
England skipper Eoin Morgan grabbed hold of the pressure and used as fuel to bring his side back into the contest. Ben Stokes matched his skipper, he too brought up a fine half-century in 46 balls. This helped England well past 200.
The Proteas once again struck at the perfect time, Tahir removing Morgan for 57, thanks to a fine catch by Markram at long-on.
Ngidi took it on himself to keep England in check. He removed Buttler (18) who chopped a slower delivery onto his leg stump and followed this with the wicket of Moeen Ali who picked out Du Plessis for an excellent diving catch at cow corner.
#ENGvSA – UPDATE:
Lungi Ngidi clinched a vital wicket after dispatching Jos Butler in the 41st over. England on 258/5 after 43.1 overs.
Mooen 2* (4)
Ben Stokes 70* (64)Watch LIVE on @DStv Now >> https://t.co/3wUsZ1pF9y #CWC19 #FuelTheFire pic.twitter.com/BgXWQkk6VB
— SuperSport🏏 (@SuperSportTV) May 30, 2019
Stokes managed to stick around to keep England in charge. The aim would be to keep England below 300 and Rabada struck halfway through the 48th over to remove Chris Woakes and reduce the hosts to 285-5.
The hosts, however still managed to push themselves to 300 and Ngidi finished with 3-66 by removing Stokes for 89 off 79 balls (nine fours).
England squeezed out another 11 runs to finish their innings on 311-9.
Photo: Alex Davidson/Getty Images
