England and South Africa clashed in the Super 8s game at St. Lucia in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. Jos Buttler, the England captain, won the toss and chose to bowl first.
South Africa had a decent opening stand of 86 runs in 10 overs in which Quinton de Kock dominated the run-making and Reeza Hendricks only contributed 19 runs. De Kock hammered a 22-ball fifty and looked like scoring a big one.
He launched an attack on the England bowlers from the start of the inning and smashed 65 off 38 deliveries. David Miller then made 43 as England bowlers made a comeback and restricted South Africa to 163/6 in 20 overs. Jofra Archer took 3/40 for England.
South African pacers give their team the best start by not letting the famed England top order get to a flying start. Phil Salt (11), Jos Buttler (17), and Jonny Bairstow all got starts but fell soon after.
England looked out of the game at 61/4 in the 11th over, when Liam Livingstone and Harry Brook came together and added a quick-fire 78 runs for the fifth wicket to bring England back into the game.
Livingstone fell for 33 in 17 balls, while Brook made 53 in 37 balls. Anrich Nortje then successfully defended 14 runs in the last over as England finished on 156/6 and lost by 7 runs.
Kagiso Rabada and Keshab Maharaj picked two wickets each for South Africa, while Quinton de Kock won the Player of the Match. Proteas have now won both of their first two matches in Super 8s Group 2.
The cricket fraternity was all praiseful of South Africa’s fighting win and lauded the team on social media.
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