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South Africa 179/6 (20 ov)
England 183/5 (19.2 ov)
England won by 5 wickets
Player of the match: Jonny Bairstow
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It seemed like Eoin Morgan had made a mistake opting to chase on this slow track, but Bairstow made sure that his captain held his head high at the end of the day. England lead the three-match series 1-0 at the end of it. Thank you for enjoying this match with us. We will be back on Sunday with the second match of the series. Until then, this is Shashwat Kumar and Bala signing off. Good night!
Eoin Morgan: "Yeah, very pleasing victory, especially with pretty average effort except from two or three guys. Chasing was not difficult especially after getting three down early. We missed areas with the ball, tad full at times and too many wickets too quickly at the top. (Getting better) More time we spend together, more we play, more we will get used to the roles and we will improve and progress over the next few games."
Quinton de Kock: "It was a good total. Unfortunately, it did not come off tonight. It could be a couple of things, not necessarily just the one over. Jonny and Ben had a good partnership today. Jonny batted really well, adapting to pitch and conditions. (On George Linde) George has been
bowling really well, really happy for him. Good day for him. (On improvements) Small things in the field we could have done different, a bit about match awareness, but we did not play badly."
Jonny Bairstow is the Player of the Match!

"Obviously very pleasing to get some runs at the start of the series and get over the line. Having played different formats, different places, you learn different things. (On batting at 4) In different surfaces, we might change the order. (IPL) I was happy with how I played in the UAE. Played over different conditions over time, you have got to adapt to different conditions. (Challenge today) Bowling into the pitch was quite tricky. Just tried to maintain the weight forward. (Chat with Ben in the middle) If you get a partnership in a T20 game, you are always in the game. We have plenty of batting, even if it had gone to 15-16 runs an over, we would have been in the game."
Jonny Bairstow was a standout in today's game. While every other batsman in either of the teams struggled to time the ball, he cruised his way to 86 off just 48 balls including four maximums, taking England to a comfortable victory in the end. But they were not on top all the while.

The visitors lost three wickets in the powerplay and looked in all sorts of trouble chasing down 180. Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan, all got out cheaply at the start. Then Ben Stokes joined Bairstow and built an excellent partnership in the middle, never allowing the required rate to go out of hand. Stokes hit three maximums on his way to 37 off just 27 balls, and they built a partnership of 85 runs from just 52 deliveries. Even after Stokes fell, Bairstow just carried on and on until he hammered one over the cow corner fence for a maximum and sealed off the chase.

South Africa had the slight upper hand probably until the 17th over in the chase. 51 runs were required off the last 4 overs and Beuran Hendricks had a disastrous over where he conceded 28 runs including 7 extras. 23 from 3 overs was too comfortable for any decent batting side with wickets in hand.

George Linde had a dream debut picking two crucial wickets and going for just 20 runs in his spell. Lungi Ngidi went for just 8 runs an over and picked up a couple of wickets as well. While Tabreez Shamsi and Kagiso Rabada were economical, Hendricks had a game to forget, conceding 56 runs from his four overs.
England win by 5 wickets with four balls remaining!
19.2 Lungi Ngidi to Jonny Bairstow, SIX! BAIRSTOW FINISHES IT OFF IN STYLE! Right in the slot outside off stump and Bairstow sits back and absolutely biffs that one way over wide long on for a maximum!
19.1 Lungi Ngidi to Jonny Bairstow, FOUR! Slower delivery on a length outside off stump and the bowler seems to have deceived Bairstow. He still manages to drag it to the leg side and pick the gap between square leg and mid wicket for four
Kagiso Rabada bowled five good balls, but one in the slot got despatched and England once again are in the driver's seat going into the last over.

Lungi Ngidi will bowl the last over. England need 7 runs to win.
19
overs
173 /5 score
0
2
1
6
1
1
runs
cricket ball icon Kagiso Rabada
18.6 Kagiso Rabada to Jonny Bairstow, full delivery on middle and leg stump. Bairstow sits deep in his crease and drills it down the ground towards long on before getting across to the other end
18.5 Kagiso Rabada to Sam Curran, dug into the surface outside off stump. Curran gets into position and cuts it aerially towards the sweeper on the point fence for another run
18.4 Kagiso Rabada to Sam Curran, SIX! SHOT! RIght in the slot outside off stump and Curran walks across his stumps slightly before bludgeoning it over long on for a magnificent maximum! Dragged that one, to be honest! But would not mind it! It did not look like perfectly timed at all, but du Plessis had to watch it sail over him. Relieves all the pressure
18.3 Kagiso Rabada to Jonny Bairstow, banged into the track outside off stump. Bairstow plays a tennis forehand shot to that one and gets it down to deep mid wicket for just a single
18.2 Kagiso Rabada to Jonny Bairstow, back of a length delivery on middle and off stump. Bairstow clears his front leg and hoicks it away to deep backward square leg for a couple of runs
18.1 Kagiso Rabada to Jonny Bairstow, OH! Searing yorker on leg stump and Bairstow looks to clear his front leg to access it. In the end, he is late on the shot and is nutmegged by the ball! Top stuff from Rabada!
Excellent over from Lungi Ngidi, removing England's captain and giving away just five runs. He took all the pace off the ball and pitched it into the deck, giving the batsmen no pace to work with.

But it's still England's game to lose though, with 18 runs required from 12 balls. Kagiso Rabada will bowl the all important 19th over.
18
overs
162 /5 score
1
1
W
1
1lb
1
runs
cricket ball icon Lungi Ngidi
17.6 Lungi Ngidi to Jonny Bairstow, slower delivery on a length outside off stump. Bairstow shapes for the sweep but realizes that there is no pace to play that shot. He adjusts enough in the end to fetch himself a single to square leg
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