Kingsmead, Durban witnessed yet another exciting T20I between South Africa and England where the visitors prevailed by just two runs in a high-scoring thriller to level the three-match series this Friday (February 14).
Batting first after losing the toss, the three lions posted a mammoth total of 204/7, with opener Jason Roy (29-ball 40), Jonny Bairstow (17-ball 35), Ben Stokes (30-ball 47*) and Moeen Ali (11-ball 39) playing the most significant knocks for their team, especially Moeen as his super blitz at the end propelled England past the 200-run mark.
Tabraiz Shamsi (1/30) and Dwaine Pretorius (1/17) bowled economical spells but their good work was undone by the rest of the Proteas bowling attack as others proved too expensive.
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In the run-chase, in-form openers Temba Bavuma (29-ball 31) and skipper Quinton de Kock (22-ball 65) got their team off to an outstanding start; De Kock, in particular, took the game aggressively to the opposition; his amazing knock glint with eight fours and two maximums.
Once those two departed, though, Proteas lost the wickets of David Miller (16-ball 21), JJ Smuts (12-ball 13), and Andile Phehulkwayo (0) cheaply.
But Rassie van der Dussen (26-ball 43*) kept his end tight and in partnership with Pretorius (13-ball 25) got his team close, requiring 15 runs off the last over against Tom Curran (2/45).
Curran, though, unfazed by the early hiccup in the over, recovered in time to dislodge Pretorious and Bjorn Fortuin (0) off the last ball and save the day for his team by the barest of margins, enabling its two-run victory to level the T20I series.
Chris Jordan (2/31) and Mark Wood (2/39) also bagged a couple of wickets in their spells for England.
Brief scores:
England 204/7 in 20 overs (Ben Stokes 47; Lungi Ngidi 3/48) beat South Africa 202/7 in 20 overs (Quinton de Kock 65; Chris Jordan 2/31) by two runs
