After losing the first T20, South Africa won the second match to level the series. Last night, the Proteas defeated England by 58 runs at Sophia Garden. Protea batsman Rilee Rossouw became the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 96 runs. However, there is one game left in the series.
Match Report
Josh Buttler, the T20 captain of England, won the toss at the Sophia Garden and decided to bowl first. So, Quinton de Kock and Reza Hendricks came off the pitch to start the innings for South Africa. This match was a chance for de Kock to get back his old form. But he failed again. This opener lost his wicket in the 4th over, scoring only 15 runs.
On the other side, Reza Hendricks kept scoring runs. He was playing aggressively against the English bowlers. With Rilee Rossouw, Reza Hendricks made a brilliant partnership. Together they added 71 runs on the scoreboard. After that, Hendricks departed the pitch as Richard Gleeson picked up his wicket in the 12th over. But before his departure, Reza Hendricks scored 53 off 32 balls.
However, Rilee Rossouw never stopped hitting. He was so attacking on the pitch. Rossouw remained not out in this match. With five sixes and ten fours, Rilee Rossouw scored 96 runs from 55 balls only. Relying on his bat, South Africa set a massive target of 208 runs for the home team.
Chasing down the target, England started their batting innings in style. Jason Roy and Josh Buttler, the two openers of England, started hitting from the first ball of the innings. Unfortunately, they couldn’t continue the flow. Their partnership broke in the 4th over as Josh Buttler lost his wicket after scoring 29 off 14 balls. After a while, David Malan also followed the same path. Protea’s spinner Tabraiz Shamsi took his wicket in the 6th over.
However, Jason Roy tried to handle the situation with Moeen Ali. But they couldn’t go far. Jason Roy left the pitch, scoring 20, while Moeen Ali lost his wicket after adding 28 runs. Jonny Bairstow added 30 runs in the middle-order. But it was not enough. Due to the aggression of the South African bowlers, England became all out in 149 runs. As a result, South Africa won the 2nd T20 by 58 runs.