Razeen Gutta
The Proteas were at their best in all departments as they won the T20 series decider against England on Sunday afternoon.
England opted to bowl first and despite getting Quinton de Kock for a first over duck, the rest of the South African batters performed well as a team to get the visitors to a solid score.
Reeza Hendricks was the headline with 70 off 50 balls, while Aiden Markram scored a good half century and Rilee Rossouw got to 31 off 18.
Captain David Miller, who played his 100th game for South Africa, put up a good cameo as well of 22 off nine deliveries as the Proteas finished on 191/5 in their 20 overs.
With the ball, it was a Tabraiz Shamsi show. The 32-year-old proved his credentials as the third best T20 bowler in the world with a magnificent five-wicket haul as England’s order collapsed for just 101 inside 17 overs.
England have now gone the entire summer without winning a white ball series under the leadership of Jos Buttler and they will hope to improve ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, which is just over two months away.
The 90-run victory, and more so the series win, leaves the South Africans in good nick ahead of the summer spectacle.
Miller reiterated post-match that it is all about backing the process.
“I thought our openers did well. The batters batted well throughout the series. We quickly forgot about the first game and bounced back in a phenomenal manner,” he said.
“We are backing our process from the last 18 months. Our guys have been raising their hands and performing at key moments.” Image source: @CricketSouthAfrica
