South Africa vs England 1st T20I in East London, where England lose the victory in a close call. England won the toss and decide to bowl, South Africa struggled at first after losing de Kock wicket. But Bavuma and Dussen paired and provided a much needed partnership and sums up 63 runs for the second wicket. Bavuma missed a half century by seven runs and return to pavilion when he scored 43 runs off 27 balls. Jordan took three wickets in last over but missed a hat-trick.
England’s messy performance
England get down to the ground with a target of 178 to chase. Steyn, who returned to game after eleven months took Jos Buttler’s wicket and gains the position of leading wicket taker for South Africa in T20I formats.
England’s Jason Roy remains unstoppable from scoring and it seems everything under control. Jason Roy scored 22 runs in Smuts over and starts brutalising South African bowlers who had been deceived by a slower ball bouncer from Hendricks.
Both Morgan and Tom Curran were caught on the boundary needlessly. Lungi Ngidi’s final over was impressive but England’s failure to get over the line was more down to batsmen error than bowler induced. Pressure made the England batsmen to deviate from focusing in game, as they were in a need of only 7 from the last over.
In truth, things had started to go wrong earlier than the last seven deliveries. The confusion and poor game management of the middle order dogged the entire final third of England’s innings. The approach suggested a lack of clarity in what batsman were trying to do either to get a single or to for a big shots. when Moeen finally did get on strike, he advanced down the wicket and yorked himself and that added benefits for South Africa. Finally Ngidi controls the England from scoring and seized the victory with a difference of single run. This makes England to move up in their list of nearest margin defeat and also makes third against South Africa.
What a Cricket match! One of the best death bowling you’ll ever see #ProteaFire #SAvsENG #LungiNgidi pic.twitter.com/vgD9sKnjnt
— Ratombo (@stoneman_o) February 12, 2020
Nearest margins of defeat for ENG in T20Is (runs):
1 run v SA, East London 2020*
2 runs v SL, Southampton 2006
3 runs v SA, Chattogram 2014
3 runs v SA, Taunton 2017
4 runs v AUS, Melbourne 2011
Eoin Morgan | England captain: Outstanding game of cricket. Experiences like these are valuable with a World Cup around the corner. Both teams left everything on the field. Losing a game by one run, you can try and make it up at some point, somewhere along the line. We didn’t take advantage of being in a commanding position. Ngidi really changed the game. Hopefully we will learn more and head to Durban on a positive note. He (Roy) is probably one of the top three batsmen in white-ball cricket we have ever produced. With the experience I have, I should have seen it through, and I’ll continue to use the method that I use, and hopefully win England more games. We’re learning a HUGE amount from each other and it’s been a very enjoyable experience in the dressing room.
#ENGvsSA
What a match! Eng lost by 1 run!
Last ball 3 required, and eng managed 1 run. https://t.co/DR2XmiKqQu— Rohit Khatnawalia (@KumarRohit2210) February 12, 2020
Morgan told Sky Sports : “Even in a position of needing seven off the last over, with new guys coming in, we expected to win that game. But it’s a great game to play in because you get a feel for where guys are at, what skill level they can produce, and how their temperament is. So in terms of actually improving, I think it’s great for us.”
After all, it is the main area of concern for Morgan as he looks ahead to the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year
