Captain Quinton de Kock welcomed the Player of the Match award, as the Proteas beat Australia by 12 runs in Sunday’s second T20I at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth.

De Kock struck 70 in a final total of 158-4. His stay spanned a mere 47 deliveries and featured five fours and four sixes.

‘I’ve realised that the new ball is key while batting. It gets difficult at the end, so we capitalised on the powerplay. I know it’s difficult to chase a target like this here and we knew that and we pulled it off. In international cricket we need to understand what needs to be done and I’m really proud of the boys,’ said De Kock.

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Australia were later limited to an insufficient 146-6 despite opener David Warner’s 67. Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi excelled with three key wickets.

‘I think a couple of games before this our death bowling struggled, and we had a good chat, but the boys came out here and stuck to the plans to execute brilliantly,’ added De Kock.

The result left the three-match series locked at 1-1. Australia had won the first T20I at the Wanderers in Johannesburg by 107 runs. Newlands in Cape Town will host the series decider on Wednesday.

‘It’ll be a good game, expecting a good wicket, so hopefully the boys come up there and perform well,’ concluded De Kock.

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