T20 World Cup, England vs South Africa: South Africa even with a win has to pack their bags and return home. Australia with the same points but with a better Net Run Rate makes their qualifications official.
Coming on this particular match, South Africa played really well. Defeating the table toppers and now the new favorites, England is a commendable result on its own. It was a 10 run win when SA gave 190 runs target to chase.
Not having the luck on their side, the toss spun in England’s favor and they decided to bowl first. They started with Moeen Ali and he rewards them with an early wicket of Reeza Hendricks.
South Africa if wanted to qualify have to win this match by almost 60 runs or above and for that, they had to set a good score which they did. Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram were in monstrous touch right from the dugout.
Especially, Rassie was on a different level. Nearly every ball was getting middle and smashed to the boundary. His knock included 6 sixes and five fours. He nearly had his century but came six runs short of it.
Nothing much to talk about in the bowling department. Although the bowling was good, South Africa were working differently here. Two wickets fell and both the wickets were taken by the spinner duo of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid each.
It was the same from the other end as well, Aiden Markram was beating the English bowlers hard. His strike rate of 208 with four sixes and two fours gave South Africa the needed push.
England looked strong at the start of the chase with Jos Butler and Jason Roy scoring freely. However, Jason Roy had to retire hurt due to some injury on his left leg and was limping away from the pitch.
The powerplay was going smooth until the sixth over came when Anrich Nortje got Butler from a fantastic catch by Bavuma at Mid-off. In the next over, Jonny Bairstow was also dismissed by Tabraiz Shamsi trapping him LBW.
The run rate was never the issue however the fall of wickets from time to time was breaking the momentum. Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, and Liam Livingstone were all batting well. At one point it looked like they will take the game away from South Africa.
It’s not a T20 game if there is not a twist in the tale. Dwaine Pretorius picked Livingstone and then Dawid Malan before the death overs to pressure their opponent.
Well, that pressure was a curse for England and never overcame that. Kagiso Rabada became the first South African to pick a hat-trick in ICC T20 World Cup. England needed runs and batters have to try it anyhow and that gave Rabada the chance to make his hat-trick.
England, Australia, and Pakistan are qualified with the fourth spot still to be decided on Sunday. A big match between New Zealand and Afghanistan remains in limelight.
Watch England vs South Africa highlights, ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
ICC T20 World Cup 2021, England vs South Africa: post match presentation.
Rassie van der Dussen:
“We knew we had to get a good score on the board. It was a good performance at the end of the day and we defeated a strong side. It has been tough for me as the three venues are totally different and every pitch has its own challenges. As a batting unit, teams that have adapted quickly have been the most successful. We asked too much from out bowlers to get us into the semis.”
Eoin Morgan:
“The wicket was good and South Africa played really well. The batters did well to stretch the game till the end. To defend low score was our biggest challenge and we did well against Sri Lanka. We have dealt with a lot of injuries but we have a lot of talented players coming in. I am happy to finish top of the group and we will embrace going further in the competition.”
Temba Bavuma:
“The team played really well and gave it our all with bat and all. At the start of the tournament, we were more focused on winning the games than on NRR. We have a lot of to be proud of as we played quite well. We have to build on the momentum and the confidence that we got from this T20 World Cup.”
