Proteas squeeze past England to remain unbeaten in T20 World Cup

South Africa 163-6 (Quinton de Kock 65, Jofra Archer 3-40) England 156-6 (Harry Brook 53. Kesav Maharaj 2-25)

South Africa squeezed past England by seven-runs in their second Super Eight match on Friday to maintain their unbeaten run with yet another thrilling, close-fought victory.

It was player of the match Quinton de Kock’s free-flowing 65 runs off 38 deliveries that helped the Proteas reach a competitive total of 163 for six.

The momentum of the match ebbed and flowed. England looked dead and buried with six overs of the match left, requiring 77 runs and batters struggling to come to grips with the slow pitch.

Liam Livingstone and Harry Brook took 52 runs off the next three overs bowled by pace bowlers Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Ottneil Baartman.

But like he did in the previous match, Rabada shifted the momentum with a brilliant over, picking up the wicket of Livingstone and only conceding four runs to see England needing 21 runs off the final two overs.

Marco Jansen allowed only seven runs off the penultimate over, but England had high hopes heading into the final over, requiring 14, with big-hitting Brook still at the crease and on strike, having reached a third half-century in his T20I career.

Nortje charged into Brook who smacked the first delivery high and down the ground, looking to clear mid-off for a boundary. But Skipper Aiden Markram had other ideas and took a flying catch with the ball coming over his shoulder to dismiss the dangerous batter.

And with Brook’s dismissal South Africa vanquished England’s chances of victory, as Nortje only conceded six runs in the remaining deliveries.

“We’ve had a few [tight games] so far in this competition,” Markram said after the match. “In today’s one you get to those last three overs and it looks like the odds will be heavily against you.

“For the bowlers to hang in there and have very good plans and to ultimately get the execution right shows a lot of skill but it comes from deeper, in that fight spirit, helped us a lot at the back there.”

De Kock goes again

England skipper Jos Buttler admitted after the match that the difference between the two sides was the innings by De Kock in the Powerplay.

“I thought they bowled well in the Powerplay and Quinton de Kock’s innings was probably the difference,” he said.

De Kock seemed to be batting on a different pitch from everyone else. He put on an 86-run opening stand with Reeza Hendricks. De Kock scored 64 runs off 34 balls in the partnership while Hendricks scored 19 off 25.

For more context at how the scoring rate had dropped, South Africa scored 63 runs for no loss in the Powerplay and only 35 runs, for the loss of two wickets, off the next seven overs.

Heinrich Klaasen (eight off 13), Aiden Markram (one off two), Tristan Stubbs (12 off 11) and Marco Jansen (zero off one) all struggled to get going.

The only other batter to get to grips with the pitch was the other left-hander in the order, David Miller, who bashed two sixes and four fours in his innings of 43 runs off 28 deliveries.

South Africa stuttered to the final total of 163 as De Kock was the only batter to look fluid throughout as he hit four fours and four sixes in his knock of 65 off 38 balls, his second half-century in succession after striking 74 off 40 balls against the USA on Wednesday.

Batting struggles

South Africa’s bowlers were consistent for the most part again against England. They were particularly accurate in the Powerplay – when scoring was easiest – conceding only 41 runs and taking one wicket.

Phil Salt threatened with the bat, smashing a six and a four early but was caught athletically by Hendricks at short cover off the bowling of Rabada.

South Africa could have had their second at the start of Rabada’s next over, but Klaasen dropped a relatively straightforward chance offered by Jonny Bairstow at deep backward point.

Keshav Maharaj eventually did get rid of Bairstow in the seventh over, no mistakes with the catch made by a diving Nortje.

England struggled to build momentum into their innings as Buttler, Bairstow and Moeen Ali all batted at slower than run-a-ball.

It was only when Brook and Livingstone came together in the 11th over that the side looked like threatening South Africa’s score.

They put on 78 off 42 deliveries for the fifth wicket as Livingstone clubbed two sixes in his innings of 33 off 17 deliveries before Rabada got rid of the dangerous man in the 18th over and turned the tide for his team. DM