South Africa failed to restrict England to 131 as they crashed out the T20 World Cup despite a 10-run victory in their final game after posting 189-2.

South Africa were sent in to bat first amid a pressure-packed situation. Australia had already convincingly defeated the West Indies, forcing the Proteas to score a big win against England.

It was a typical sedate start after the early wicket of Reeza Hendricks, who missed a slog sweep and was bowled by Moeen Ali. Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen steadily accumulated through the first 10 overs with the occasional boundaries.

However, it was time to step on the gas at the halfway mark, and van der Dussen quickly got to work with an inventive scoop over fine leg for six off Mark Wood. In the quest for big runs, de Kock holed out to long-on off legspinner Adil Rashid, but the arrival of Aiden Markram signalled a rather swift turnaround for the better.

Both Markram and van der Dussen regularly cleared the boundary at the death. They took a particular liking to Chris Woakes, taking him down for 21 runs in the 16th over. Both batters fed each other’s strengths, and scored a tremendous 71 runs in the final five overs, driving the score up to 189/2.

Despite coming up 4 short of what would’ve been his first T20I ton, van der Dussen dazzled with his enterprising hitting all around the ground. Markram brought up a half-century of his own, maintaining his stellar form throughout the tournament.

England were off to a rather positive start in the chase, barring a tight first over from Maharaj. However, the situation took an abrupt turn for the worse when opener Jason Roy injured his leg while running. He was helped off the field, and it’s likely the end of the tournament for the big hitter.

Jos Buttler was looking in sterling form, but his burgeoning knock was kept to a cameo as he drove a full delivery from Nortje to skipper Bavuma at cover. Tabraiz Shamsi struck in the very next over to remove the dangerous Jonny Bairstow cheaply, but with a tall target to hunt down, Moeen Ali and Dawid Malan regularly found the boundary. Kagiso Rabada especially went for plenty, and Moeen attacked the spinners, too.

One big shot too many from the left-hander proved to be his undoing, as David Miller held on to a crucial catch at long-on. But then again, the Proteas weren’t out of the woods by any means, with a rampaging Liam Livingstone blasting three towering sixes off Rabada and keeping the required rate under control.

Dwaine Pretorius’ medium pace was introduced fairly late in the innings, but he struck in the 17th over to send back Malan. Fortunately for England, captain Eoin Morgan found the boundary three times in his first 7 deliveries. The game of twists and turns continued when Livingstone mistimed a slog off a slower ball from Pretorius, providing a simple grab for Miller.

England needed 14 from the last over, and there was immense pressure on Rabada, who went for 45 in his first three overs. Chris Woakes connected well on the first delivery, but Anrich Nortje took an excellent catch at deep midwicket. Rabada took the pace off on the next delivery, and Morgan couldn’t hit it well enough and holed out to Maharaj at deep backward square.

Rabada completed a clutch hat-trick when Chris Jordan hit a slower ball straight to Miller at long-off. It’s been a tough tournament for the Proteas despite a few inspiring performances with the ball. They had to consign England to 131 to supplant Australia and make the semifinals, but the net run rate wasn’t reachable. It’s definitely a positive to beat the strongest team in the group, and 4 wins in 5 games is something to be very appreciative of.

SA 189/2 (van der Dussen 96, Markram 52)
Eng 179/8 (Moeen 37, Malan 33 – Shamsi 4-0-24-2, Pretorius 3-0-30-2, Rabada 4-0-48-3)

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