South Africa pip England in rain-hit 1st T20I: Details here
What's the story
South Africa defeated England by 14 runs (DLS method) in a rain-affected opening T20I at Cardiff on Thursday. The match was reduced to nine overs per side due to the weather conditions. Batting first, South Africa were 97/5 from 7.5 overs before another rain interruption. England's target was revised to 69 runs in five overs. They managed 54/5 in 5 overs.
Match highlights
England fall short in rain-affected game
England started their chase aggressively but lost wickets at regular intervals. They were reduced to 43 for five, needing 26 runs from the last five balls. Sam Curran gave them a glimmer of hope with a six but they eventually fell short, finishing at 54 for five. Corbin Bosch and Marco Jansen took two wickets each for South Africa while Jos Buttler top-scored for England with a quickfire 25 off just 11 balls.
Match details
Markram, Brevis and Ferreira shine with the bat for SA
South Africa's innings was led by captain Aiden Markram who scored a quick 28 off 14 balls. Dewald Brevis, SA20's most expensive player in Tuesday's auction, entertained with a 23-run knock off just 10 balls before falling to Curran. Donovan Ferreira remained unbeaten on an impressive 25 off 11 balls. He smoked three sixes. For England, Luke Wood picked 2/22 from 2 overs.
Game analysis
Summary of England's chase
England's batting lineup struggled against South Africa's bowling attack. Phil Salt was dismissed on the first ball of the chase while Jacob Bethell and captain Harry Brook also fell cheaply. Buttler tried to keep England in the game with his explosive innings but it wasn't enough to save them from defeat. South Africa's strategy paid off as they restricted England effectively despite rain interruptions.
Do you know?
Brevis goes past 2,500 runs in T20s
SA's Brevis went past 2,500 runs in the 20-over format. The dasher accomplished the milestone with his ninth run. He smashed three sixes. Playing his 104th T20, Brevis has gone past 2,500 runs (2,514) at 29.23, as per ESPNcricinfo.
Information
Markram surpasses 4,900 runs in 20 overs cricket
Markram's 28 had two fours and two sixes from 14 balls. He has raced to 1,426 runs from 61 matches (57 innings) at 29.10. Overall in T20s, he has 4,909 runs at 30.68 from 201 matches (189 innings).
ENG
5th T20I duck for Salt; Buttler entertains
Salt recorded his 5th duck in T20Is. Meanwhile, this was the Englishman's 20th duck overall in T20s. Rabada dismissed him off the 1st ball in England's innings. Buttler hit 25 runs from 11 balls. He smoked three sixes and a four. The veteran Englishman has raced to 13,363 runs in T20s from 467 matches (441 innings). He has smashed 573 sixes in T20s. 3,725 of his T20 runs have come in T20Is at 35.81 (SR: 147.40).