Super 12 - Match 39, Sharjah, November 06, 2021, 07:30 PM
South Africa
189/2(20.0ov)
England
179/8(20.0ov)
South Africa beat England by 10 runs
Right then! We have our two semi-finalists from Group 1 and it has been a treat to cover this group. Pakistan have qualified from Group 2 and one more place is up for grabs there. That will be decided over the next 3 games of that group. On Sunday, 7th November, we have two clashes. First, Afghanistan will take on New Zealand in an extremely important game. That will begin at 2 pm Local (10 am GMT) and later, Pakistan will play Scotland at 6 pm Local (2 pm GMT). See you there. Till then, take care and goodbye.
Temba Bavuma, the skipper of South Africa, says that the team played really well and gave it their all with bat and all. Adds that at the start of the tournament, they were more focused on winning the games than on NRR. Mentions that they have a lot of to be proud of as they played quite well. Says that they have to build on the momentum and the confidence that they got from this World Cup.
Eoin Morgan, the skipper of England, says that the wicket was good and South Africa played really well. Says that the batters did well to stretch the game till the end. Adds that to defend low score was their biggest challenge and they did well against Sri Lanka. Tells that they have dealt with a lot of injuries but they have a lot of talented players coming in. Says he is happy to finish top of the group and they will embrace going further in the competition.
Rassie van der Dussen is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH. He says that they knew they had to get a good score on the board. Mentions that it was a good performance at the end of the day and they defeated a strong side. Adds that it has been tough for him as the three venues are totally different and every pitch has its own challenges. Informs that as a batting unit, teams that have adapted quickly have been the most successful. Tells that they asked too much from their bowlers to get them into the semis.
Stay tuned for the presentation.
They had 189 on the board, but South Africa had the number 131 in their mind. They would have wanted early wickets in the Powerplay and would have wanted to concede a few runs but the latter did not happen for them. England got a good start and it got tougher and tougher. Tabraiz Shamsi did take a couple of wickets in the middle overs but by then, it was quite clear that they would not make it to the semi-finals. They would have wanted to finish with a win but some brilliant hitting by Liam Livingstone kept them on their toes. It looked like he would take the game away from them but Liam Livingstone's departure in the penultimate over and Kagiso Rabada's hat-trick sealed the deal for them.
England had a pretty big target to chase down here. They started quite well but losing Jason Roy early to an injury was a big blow. But, Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali made sure that they had a good start. The first target for them was to cross the 87-run mark and make sure that they got to the semi-finals and they crossed that hurdle with ease. Then, they crossed the 131-run mark to get their arch-rivals, Australia, to the semi-finals too. What was left now was to get to 190 and stay unbeaten in the Super 12s. Liam Livingstone joined Dawid Malan in the middle after the departure of Moeen Ali and the stage was set for these two batters to take them home. Malan fell but Livingstone kept going and even Eoin Morgan hit a few nice blows. But losing quick wickets in the last couple of overs put them short of the target by 10 runs.
It was termed the 'Group of Death' and it has seen the end of the road for Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, South Africa and even the defending champions, West Indies. England and Australia will go through to the semi-finals and they have deserved it. South Africa would be quite gutted though. They bounced back really well after losing their clash with Australia, but too much was needed from them in this match to get to the semi-finals. This game shows the importance of maintaining a good NRR in such competitions from the very beginning. But, we were treated with a brilliant game to end the matches of Group 1. Just to add, Jason Roy was seen limping when the teams shook hands and that is not a good sign for this English side moving forward.
In over# 20
1
1
1
0W
0W
0W
Kagiso Rabada 48/3(4)
19.6
1
England's unbeaten run in this World Cup has been put to halt. A length ball, outside off. Rashid pulls it to mid-wicket for a single. SOUTH AFRICA WIN BY 10 RUNS!
19.5
1
On middle, drilled down to long on for one.
Kagiso Rabada is the fourth player to bag a hat-trick in the T20 World Cup.
19.4
1
A length ball, on off, dragged to mid-wicket for a single.
Mark Wood is the new batsman in.
19.3
W
OUT! CAUGHT! Hat-Trick for Kagiso Rabada. A World Cup Hat-Trick for him. You just can't keep these good players out of the game for a long time. A length ball, outside off. Chris Jordan smashes it straight to long off where Miller takes a good catch.
Adil Rashid is the new batsman in but it will be Chris Jordan who will face the hat-trick ball.
19.2
W
OUT! CAUGHT! Two in two for Rabada. Went for runs in the previous over but has started brilliantly this one. Can he finish it now? A slower length ball, outside off. Morgan drags it from outside off straight to Keshav Maharaj at deep square leg who takes a simple catch. Rabada is on a Hat-Trick.
Chris Jordan walks out to bat.
19.1
W
OUT! TAKEN! A length ball, outside off. Woakes gets low stays back and heaves it to deep mid-wicket. He almost thought that he has cleared it but Nortje near the fence, keeps his eyes on the ball and takes a stunner and holds onto it. The TV umpire is called to check the no ball but it is a fair delivery and Woakes continues his long walk.