| 0.0 : A warm welcome to everyone for the final T20I between England and South Africa at Sophia Gardens. It's the series decider as both teams have won one game apiece. In the last match too, the hosts' top order gave them a flying start but once they departed things changed. The Proteas came back strongly with the ball and pulled out a superb win to level the series. |
| The ODI series was won by the English side 2-1 and would look to do the same in this T20I series as well. South Africa, on the other hand, would look to make up for a dismal Champions Trophy and the ODI series before that. Both the sides have young players and this series finale would be a good test for them. It had rained earlier in the day in Cardiff and let's hope it stays away to witness a good game on our hands. |
| TOSS - SOUTH AFRICA WIN THE TOSS AND OPT TO FIELD. |
| TEAM NEWS - Eoin Morgan has opted to sit out for this game and in his absence Jos Buttler will lead England. Alex Hales and Mason Crane come back in for Bairstow and Dawson while DAWID MALAN MAKES HIS INTERNATIONAL DEBUT. South Africa have just one change as Imran Tahir replaces Tabraiz Shamsi. |
| The players are out in the middle and it's the batting pair of Alex Hales and Jason Roy to open for England. Chris Morris to start the proceedings with the new ball. He has a slip in place. The weather is overcast but not much dark clouds hovering over Sophia Gardens. Here we go... |
| 0.1 : C Morris to A Hales, Good length delivery outside off to start with, Roy prods forward and tries to defend it. Gets it towards the point fielder of the outer half. |
| 0.2 : C Morris to J Roy, Back of a length delivery angling into the body, Hales fails to clip it through. |
| 0.3 : C Morris to J Roy, Dropped! Good length delivery into the batsman, Roy comes down the track and tries to heave for a biggie. Does not time it well and the ball balloons towards the short fine leg region. Mosehle the keeper chases it down and dives to catch it but fails to hold onto it. |
| 0.4 : C Morris to J Roy, Back of a length delivery outside off, Roy punches it towards the fielder at covers. |
| 0.5 : C Morris to J Roy, Played to the point region by the batsman. |
| 0.6 : C Morris to J Roy, Short delivery into the body, Roy pulls it through the square leg region for a couple. |
| Morne Morkel to share the new ball. |
| 1.1 : M Morkel to A Hales, Hales stays deep in his crease and defends it. |
| 1.2 : M Morkel to A Hales, Outside off, Hales tries to heave it on the leg side but fails to make contact. |
| 1.3 : M Morkel to A Hales, FOUR! Edgy! Outside off on a good length, Hales tries to cut it but manages to get an outside edge for a boundary. |
| 1.4 : M Morkel to A Hales, Leg bye! That ball has struck the batsman on the thigh pad. They pick up a single. The Umpire signals Leg Bye. |
| 1.5 : M Morkel to J Roy, FOUR! Beautiful! Back of a length delivery around off, Roy stays back and just punches it through the mid-wicket region for a boundary. |
| 1.6 : M Morkel to J Roy, OUT! Roy departs! Back of a length delivery angling into the batsman, Roy stays in his crease and tries to play the ramp shot. Does not time it well and the ball goes straight to the keeper who makes no mistake this time around. Morkel has struck early and the South Africans erupt in joy as they know how dangerous Roy can be. |
| Dawid Malan is the new man in. |
| A T20I debut for the youngster. He would look to make the most of it in the opportunity he gets. Can he make his mark tonight? |
| 2.1 : C Morris to A Hales, Low full toss outside off, placed wide of mid on for a run. |
| 2.2 : C Morris to D Malan, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 2.3 : C Morris to D Malan, SIX! Hammered! What a way to register first international runs! Slightly back of a length around middle and off. Malan shimmies a touch and latches onto it in a flash. Pulls it hard and flat over square leg for the first maximum of the day. |
| 2.4 : C Morris to D Malan, Low full toss, pushed in the cover region for a single. |
| 2.5 : C Morris to A Hales, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 2.6 : C Morris to A Hales, Banged in short outside off, Hales lets it sail through to the keeper. |
| 3.1 : M Morkel to D Malan, Fuller delivery outside off, Malan shuffles across, leans into the drive and plays it beautifully through the cover region. Beats the diving fielder but the outfield is slow which helps the extra fielder chase it down. Two runs taken. |
| 3.2 : M Morkel to D Malan, Starts with the variation here, bowls an off cutter outside off. Malan is beaten by the lack of pace as he tries to run it down towards third man. |
| 3.3 : M Morkel to D Malan, Banged in short outside off, Malan camps back and pulls it with authority through the mid-wicket region for a couple. |
| Third man comes in. |
| 3.4 : M Morkel to D Malan, Good length delivery outside, another slower one this time. Malan tries to dab it down but fails to make contact. |
| 3.5 : M Morkel to D Malan, That might have hurt! Another short delivery by Morne but this time at a slower pace. Malan is too early into the shot and he misses it completely. Gets hit on the arm. |
| 3.6 : M Morkel to D Malan, Dawid guides it towards third man for a single. |
| Andile Phehlukwayo is introduced into the attack. |
| 4.1 : A Phehlukwayo to D Malan, FOUR! Malan welcomes Andile in style! Good length delivery outside off, Malan slashes hard through the backward point region. Beats the diving short third man fielder and the ball races away to the boundary. |
| 4.2 : A Phehlukwayo to D Malan, Short delivery around off, DM pulls it towards deep mid-wicket for a single. |
| 4.3 : A Phehlukwayo to A Hales, Another short delivery into the body, Hales tries to help it through. Gets it towards the short third man region. Paterson there puts his body in between to block the ball. A single is taken. |
| 4.4 : A Phehlukwayo to D Malan, FOUR! Malan, you beauty! Back of a length slower one and Dawid stays deep in his crease to pull this one through the backward square leg region for a boundary. |
| 4.5 : A Phehlukwayo to D Malan, Another short one and Malan is back to his pull. Gets it straight towards the deep mid-wicket fielder for a single. |
| 4.6 : A Phehlukwayo to A Hales, Wide! Short and wide down the leg side, Hales sways away from the line of the ball to let it through. |
| A Phehlukwayo to A Hales, Another short delivery at a slower pace, Hales pulls it towards deep mid-wicket for a single. 13 runs off the over. |
| Dane Paterson is called into the attack. |
| 5.1 : D Paterson to A Hales, Very full into the stumps, Hales manages to block it away towards backward square leg for a single. |
| 5.2 : D Paterson to D Malan, Good length delivery outside off, Malan mistimes his punch towards long off for a single. |
| 5.3 : D Paterson to A Hales, That's nasty! Length delivery around off, Hales backs away and goes for the heave. Gets a thick inside edge and the ball goes on to hit him on his left knee. Malan calls for the run but he goes back to his crease as Hales is down in pain. We can just hope that it is not serious because it looked really bad to the naked eye. |
| Hales has hurt his left knee real bad and he is undergoing some treatment in the middle. The physio is having a look at it and Hales now seems fine to continue. |
| 5.4 : D Paterson to A Hales, Good length delivery around middle and leg, Hales backs away and tries to clear the infield on the off side but he fails to make contact. |
| 5.5 : D Paterson to A Hales, A good yorker around leg, Hales digs it out towards mid on for a single. |
| 5.6 : D Paterson to D Malan, FOUR! Beautiful! Fuller outside off, Malan shuffles way across and just flicks it over the mid-wicket region for a boundary. He seems to be toying with the South African bowling attack. |
| Chris Morris is back for a bowl. |
| 6.1 : C Morris to A Hales, Short outside off, Hales pulls it towards deep mid-wicket for a single. |
| 6.2 : C Morris to D Malan, Length delivery outside off, Dawid Malan shuffles and punches it towards the fielder at extra cover. |
| 6.3 : C Morris to D Malan, Slower delivery on a good length around off, Malan stays in his crease and defends it back to the bowler. |
| 6.4 : C Morris to D Malan, Wide! Dug in really short this time, Dawid kneels a touch and tries to swing his bat at it but he fails to make contact. |
| C Morris to D Malan, Fuller outside off, Malan drives it towards long off for a single. |
| 6.5 : C Morris to A Hales, Dropped! What have you done Phehlukwayo? A bit shortish around off, Hales comes down the track and tries to go downtown. Gets it off the splice off his bat and the ball balloons towards the mid on region. He starts walking off as Phehlukwayo sits under the sitter. But wait, he has dropped it and Hales has managed to complete the run. How costly will that turn out to be? |
| 6.6 : C Morris to D Malan, FOUR! Easy pickings! Angling into the pads, Malan shuffles across and works it fine past the keeper for a boundary. |
| Imran Tahir is introduced into the attack. |
| 7.1 : I Tahir to A Hales, Full toss around off, Hales slog sweeps it towards long on for a single. |
| 0.0 : It's gone a touch dark out there now. |
| 7.2 : I Tahir to D Malan, FOUR! Powerful! Short delivery around off, Malan camps back and pulls it with authority through the long on region for a boundary. |
| 7.3 : I Tahir to D Malan, Malan stays in his crease and defends it. |
| 7.4 : I Tahir to D Malan, FOUR! Edged! Quicker outside off, Malan throws his bat to it. Gets an inside edge past the keeper, through the third man region for a boundary. 50-run stand between Dawid Malan and Alex Hales. |
| 7.5 : I Tahir to D Malan, Punched towards long on for a single. |
| 7.6 : I Tahir to A Hales, Hales pulls it towards deep mid-wicket for a single. |
| Morne Morkel is back on. |
| 8.1 : M Morkel to A Hales, Hales stays in his crease and clips it through the mid-wicket region for a single. |
| 8.2 : M Morkel to D Malan, Fuller outside off, Malan drives it towards the fielder at covers. |
| 8.3 : M Morkel to D Malan, Length delivery outside off, Malan swings his bat but he fails to make contact. |
| 8.4 : M Morkel to D Malan, SIX! Great shot! Fuller delivery outside off, Malan stays deep in his crease and lofts that powerfully over the long off region for half a dozen. This is also the highest score by an Englishmen on a T20I debut. What a feat to be part of! |
| 8.5 : M Morkel to D Malan, Wide! Short delivery way down the leg side, Malan still goes to pull it but he fails to make contact. The umpire signals it as a wide. |
| M Morkel to D Malan, Length delivery outside off, Malan punches it straight to the point fielder. |
| 8.6 : M Morkel to D Malan, Short delivery into the body, Malan goes for the pull but only manages to find an inside edge onto his body. No runs taken. |
| 9.1 : I Tahir to A Hales, SIX! That's a freebie! Full toss in the line of the stumps, Hales stays in his crease and just sends it deep into mid-wicket stands for half a dozen. |
| 9.2 : I Tahir to A Hales, Hales slogs it towards long on for a single. |
| 9.3 : I Tahir to D Malan, Malan plays the reverse weep this time but straight to the fielder at point. |
| 9.4 : I Tahir to D Malan, Malan stays in his crease and punches it towards the fielder at covers. |
| 9.5 : I Tahir to D Malan, FOUR! Fifty for Malan! Fuller into the stumps, Malan just shuffles across and paddles it over the fine leg region. Morkel tries to reach it but gets beaten and the ball races away to the boundary. Dawid will be hoping to continue with his entertaining knock. |
| Fifty on debut for Dawid Malan! |
| 9.6 : I Tahir to D Malan, FOUR! Shot! Fuller outside off, Malan cuts it through the backward point region for a boundary. |
| 10.1 : M Morkel to A Hales, Back of a length delivery around off, worked in the long leg region for a single. |
| 10.2 : M Morkel to D Malan, Length delivery, angling across the southpaw, who throws his bat at it but gets it off the toe end to sweeper cover for a single. |
| 10.3 : M Morkel to A Hales, FOUR! Almost a wide yorker, Hales looks to squeeze it on the off side. Gets it finer than he intends to and the ball races past the diving keeper to the fence behind. |
| 10.4 : M Morkel to A Hales, Hales dances down, making room. Morkel spots that and bowls a slow short delivery outside off. Hales mistimes his pull to mid on and takes a quick single. |
| 10.5 : M Morkel to D Malan, Malan too dances down the track leg sidish, Morkel bowls short to him as well, angling across. Malan looks to put bat on it but misses. |
| 10.6 : M Morkel to D Malan, FOUR! The ball has raced away! Malan this time walks across, forcing Morkel to alter his line, who follows him with a full delivery. Dawid drills it past mid off for a boundary. |
| Dane Paterson is brought back into the attack. |
| 11.1 : D Paterson to A Hales, Angling into the batsman, Hales dances down, looks to heave it but gets an inside edge onto the left pad. The ball rolls on the leg side and a single is taken. |
| 11.2 : D Paterson to D Malan, Full on middle, Malan clears his front leg and carves it over cover-point for a single. |
| 11.3 : D Paterson to A Hales, SIX! Just over! On a length around off, Hales clears his front leg and slams it over long on. Behardien at the fence, jumps full stretch but the ball evades his fingers and sails into the stands. |
| 11.4 : D Paterson to A Hales, Run out chance! Back of a length around off, Hales stays leg sidish and looks to muscle it down the ground but mistimes it on the off side. De Villiers from extra cover, runs to his right, picks up the ball and has a shy at the bowler's end but misses. Hales who dives to get in, crashes into the stumps. The replays suggest that had ball hit the stumps, Hales was a goner. |
| 11.5 : D Paterson to D Malan, FOUR! Cheeky! Full on middle and off, Malan moves across and paddle scoops it over short fine leg for a boundary. This guys is just destroying the Protea bowling. |
| 11.6 : D Paterson to D Malan, FOUR! Easy pickings! This is poor line from Paterson. He bowls it on the shorter side outside leg, Malan just pulls it fine past the keeper for back-to-back boundaries. |
| 100-run stand between Alex Hales and Dawid Malan! |
| Andile Phehlukwayo is called back for a bowl. |
| 12.1 : A Phehlukwayo to A Hales, Shortish delivery, flat-batted to long on for a single. |
| 12.2 : A Phehlukwayo to D Malan, Length delivery, angling away, Malan looks to drive it but gets an inside edge onto the pads. The ball rolls on the off side and a run is taken. |
| 12.3 : A Phehlukwayo to A Hales, OUT! Hales departs! Phehlukwayo the man to provide the breakthrough! Back of a length delivery, angling in, Hales dances down the track, giving some room. Looks to muscle his pull over mid-wicket but finds Miller in the deep, who takes a good low catch. End of the 105-run stand. A much-needed wicket for South Africa. Can they make further inroads? |
| Jos Buttler walks out to bat next. |
| 12.4 : A Phehlukwayo to D Malan, Back of a length delivery, angling away, Malan slashes it through backward point. Paterson from third man, runs to his left, covers good ground and puts in a dive to stop. The ball, however, looks to be rolling towards the fence. Luckily, it hits Dane's boots and stops. Three runs taken. |
| 12.5 : A Phehlukwayo to Jos Buttler, Buttler shimmies across and tucks it in the wide mid on region for a single. |
| 12.6 : A Phehlukwayo to D Malan, Length ball on middle and leg, defended in the point region for a single. |
| 13.1 : I Tahir to D Malan, FOUR! Tossed up around off, Malan gives himself room and goes inside out over extra cover. There's a huge gap there and the fielder in the deep puts in a desperate dive to stop it but misses and concedes a boundary. |
| 13.2 : I Tahir to D Malan, Full toss on the stumps, reverse swept straight to short third man. |
| 13.3 : I Tahir to D Malan, OUT! Huge wicket, this! Tossed up delivery, Malan makes room and looks to go big downtown. However, fails to connect it cleanly and the ball balloons high in the air. Paterson at long on, gets under it and completes the catch. End of the innings for the debutant but after thoroughly entertaining the crowd. Two new batsman in, now. |
| Sam Billings walks out to the middle. |
| 13.4 : I Tahir to Jos Buttler, Four Byes! Full toss outside off, Buttler looks to reverse sweep but misses. So does the keeper and the ball races away to the fence. |
| 13.5 : I Tahir to Jos Buttler, Bye! Once again Buttler looks to reverse sweep but misses. This time the ball goes past the leg stump and keeper fails to collect it once again. Another bye taken. |
| 13.6 : I Tahir to Sam Billings, Full in the line of the stumps, swept fine down the leg side for a brace. |
| Chris Morris to bowl his last over. |
| 14.1 : C Morris to Jos Buttler, 1 run. |
| 14.2 : C Morris to Sam Billings, The batsman has pushed it to the cover region. One run added to the total. |
| 14.3 : C Morris to Jos Buttler, Leg bye! Angling down leg, Buttler shuffles across, looks to play across the line but misses. The ball brushes the thigh pad and rolls on the leg side. A leg bye is taken. |
| 14.4 : C Morris to Sam Billings, Outside off, guided to third man for a single. |
| 14.5 : C Morris to Jos Buttler, Buttler looks to scoop this short delivery but completely misses it. |
| 14.6 : C Morris to Jos Buttler, Punched on the up in the cover region for a single. |
| 15.1 : I Tahir to Jos Buttler, Shout for lbw! Googly outside off, Buttler dances down the track and gets beaten by the wrong one. Gets rapped on the pads and the ball runs past the keeper. Morkel from short third man tries chasing it down, even puts in a dive but the ball beats him. As that ball hit the pads, Tahir appeals but the umpire turns it down. The Hawk Eye shows that the impact was in line and would have gone on to hit the stumps. |
| 15.2 : I Tahir to Jos Buttler, Served around off, punched to extra cover. |
| 15.3 : I Tahir to Jos Buttler, Punched to extra cover again. This time the fielder there makes a hash of it and concedes a couple. |
| 15.4 : I Tahir to Jos Buttler, Tahir bowls it on the shorter side, Buttler punches it through covers. Gets it in the gap there and takes an easy two. |
| 15.5 : I Tahir to Jos Buttler, Served fuller in the line of the stumps, eased down to long on for a single. |
| 15.6 : I Tahir to Sam Billings, Billings dances down the track and bunts it down to long on for a single. |
| Andile Phehlukwayo is back for a bowl. |
| 16.1 : A Phehlukwayo to Sam Billings, Appeal for caught behind! Very full outside off, Billings looks to sweep it but misses. There's some sound as the ball passes him. Hence the players appeal but umpire stays put. The replay shows that the sound was of the ball hitting the pads. |
| 16.2 : A Phehlukwayo to Sam Billings, Wide yorker, Billings fails to squeeze it out. |
| 16.3 : A Phehlukwayo to Sam Billings, Very full outside off, dragged to long on for a single. |
| 16.4 : A Phehlukwayo to Jos Buttler, SIX! Sheer power! Full outside off, Buttler with strong bottom hand tonks it flat over mid off. Has got so much power on it that the ball travels all the way for a maximum. |
| 16.5 : A Phehlukwayo to Jos Buttler, FOUR! In the gap! Phehlukwayo alters his length, goes short. Buttler picks the length early and pulls it in the cow corner region for a boundary. Finally, he has got going! |
| Third man comes inside the circle. |
| 16.6 : A Phehlukwayo to Jos Buttler, Slower delivery on the shorter side, Buttler is beaten by the lack of pace on it but does well to block it down the track. |
| Dane Paterson is brought back into the attack. |
| 17.1 : D Paterson to Sam Billings, Full outside off, Billings gets across and kneels down to sweep but misses. Gets rapped on the pads and the ball lobs on the deck. |
| 17.2 : D Paterson to Sam Billings, SIX! Innovative! Full toss around off, Sam once again kneels down to sweep. Connects it well this time and the ball sails over the square leg fence for half a dozen. |
| 17.3 : D Paterson to Sam Billings, Once again Billings sweeps but finds the man at square leg. |
| 17.4 : D Paterson to Sam Billings, OUT! Billings departs! Paterson bowls it slowish on a length outside off, Billings looks to go after the width and flashes his bat at it. The lack of pace does him in and the ball lobs off the toe end to de Villiers at extra cover, who doesn't make any mistake. A scratchy knock from Sam comes to an end. |
| Liam Livingstone strides out to the middle. |
| 17.5 : D Paterson to L Livingstone, OUT! Two-in-two! Livingstone bags a golden duck! That is poor from the youngster. He looks to scoop the full toss by getting a long way across. However, he misses and sees his stumps rattled. All he need to do was just rotate the strike and give strike to his skipper. |
| Liam Plunkett walks out to face the hat-trick ball. |
| 17.6 : D Paterson to L Plunkett, Almost a yorker on middle and off, dug out by Plunkett to see off the hat-trick ball. |
| 18.1 : A Phehlukwayo to Jos Buttler, Full outside off, Buttler looks to go big on the off side but mistimes it. The ball lands safely in the wide mid off region and the batsmen take a brace. |
| 18.2 : A Phehlukwayo to Jos Buttler, Very full on off, dug out through wide mid off for a brace. |
| 18.3 : A Phehlukwayo to Jos Buttler, Another brace from Buttler. He pushes the full delivery through wide mid off for a couple. |
| 18.4 : A Phehlukwayo to Jos Buttler, SIX! Incredible! Full outside off, Buttler makes room and with a strong bottom hand bunts it over cover-point for a maximum. It's just unbelievable. Phehlukwayo hadn't given much room there but Buttler still managed to dispatch it into the stands. |
| 18.5 : A Phehlukwayo to Jos Buttler, Short delivery, angling in, pulled to deep mid-wicket for a run. |
| 18.6 : A Phehlukwayo to L Plunkett, OUT! Another duck for an Englishman! Andile bowls it slower and shorter around off, angling in. Plunkett pulls it over mid-wicket. Miller in the deep, comes running in and takes a really good sliding catch to send Plunkett back to the pavilion. |
| David Willey is the next man in. |
| 19.1 : D Paterson to D Willey, Yorker on middle and leg, dug out on the leg side for a single. |
| 19.2 : D Paterson to Jos Buttler, Full outside off, driven to extra cover. Buttler opts against the single. |
| 19.3 : D Paterson to Jos Buttler, OUT! Back of a length delivery outside off on the slower side. Buttler looks to muscle it but gets a top edge. The ball balloons in the point region and Smuts there takes the sitter to send the English skipper back in the dressing room. 3-fer for Paterson. |
| Chris Jordan makes his way out to the middle. |
| 19.4 : D Paterson to D Willey, OUT! Two-in-two again from Paterson! Bowls a perfect yorker on middle and leg. Willey, who is standing leg sidish, fails to squeeze it out and sees his stumps shattered. Paterson is having a gala time out there. Can he make it a 5-fer? |
| Tom Curran walks out to face another hat-trick ball! |
| 19.5 : D Paterson to Tom Curran, Curran looks to scoop the length delivery but misses. |
| 19.6 : D Paterson to Tom Curran, The batsman has pushed it to the cover region. The batsmen have run through for a single. ENGLAND END ON 181/8! |
| Dawid Malan's impressive knock on debut has helped England put on a par score. Roy departed early but the debutant came in and took the South African bowling apart from the word go. He smashed them to all parts of the ground with Alex Hales playing the second fiddle. But, both of them departed in quick succession. Buttler then played a cameo to post a total in excess of 180. |
| The Protea bowling after suffering blows in the first 10 overs, came back hard and strong in the next ten. They didn't allow the English batsmen to let loose in the fag end with Paterson being the tormentor in chief. They gave away just 21 runs in the last 5 overs and also picked up 5 wickets in those. Chase coming up shortly! |
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