Razeen Gutta
South Africa came back from a difficult first T20 match against England on Wednesday with a short turnaround time to take all ten wickets on Thursday evening and level the three-match series, setting up an exciting Sunday finale.
The hosts won the toss and opted to bowl despite setting a mammoth target of 235 the day before. This time it was the Proteas’ turn to score big, with Rilee Rossouw the standout performer.
Reeza Hendricks put up a good half century at the top of the order after Quinton de Kock was dismissed for 15, before the Rossouw show kicked off.
The 32-year-old was not out on 96 off 55 balls, hitting ten fours and five sixes to take the visitors to a total of 207/3 in their 20 overs.
Having got to 193 the previous evening and still falling short by 41 runs, captain David Miller would have known that the onus was on the bowlers to step up their game this time around.
That is exactly what occurred with two powerplay wickets as Andile Phehlukwayo and Keshav Maharaj dismissed Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan.
After hitting 90 in Bristol on Wednesday, Jonny Bairstow managed just 30 in Cardiff last night — with the rest of England’s order crumbling around him.
Tabraiz Shamsi and Phehlukwayo both got three wicket hauls to restrict England to 149 all out inside 17 overs, as South Africa marched on to a mammoth 58 run victory.
The final showdown will take place in Southampton on Sunday afternoon with the Proteas hoping to win the series ahead of the test matches.
Image source: @CricketSouthAfrica
