ICC T20 WC 2021 - Super 12 - Rabada's hattrick against Eng helps SA win; Eng, Aus through to SF
Van der Dussen - Markram's 103-run partnership, Rabada's last over hat-trick help South Africa beat England
South Africa 189/2 in 20 overs (Rassie van der Dussen 94*, Aiden Markram 52*; Moeen Ali 1/27) defeat England 179/8 in 20 overs (Ali 37, Dawid Malan 33; Kagiso Rabada 3/48, Tabraiz Shamsi 2/24) by 10 runs
England and South Africa met in a Super 12 game of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on November 6, Saturday.
England which is reigning at the top of the table of Group 1 of Super 12 stage, entered the game undefeated, having won four games in a row and virtually qualifying for the semis. The Proteas, on the other hand, set out to bag a win by a substantial margin and ascend the rank from their third position of the "Group of Death", having a lower NRR than Australia.
The Proteas charged at the English team with brute force, the match being a must- win situation for them.
Already high on confidence, England had a fortuitous start in the game, having won the toss and choosing to field first in the fate-decider game of South Africa.
South Africa get off to sluggish start
Playing their most crucial match of the tournament, South African batters put in to bat first got off to a sluggish start. They lost an early wicket in the form of Reeza Hendricks (2) on just the fourth ball of the 3 rd over.
Moeen Ali, as usual, gave England the early breakthrough and his first wicket of the game. Not letting the opening partnership of the opposition flourish has been England’s core strategy and South Africa remained no exception.
New batter Rassie van der Dussen arrived at the crease and got off the mark with a single, followed by a cheeky boundary in the next over. While Quinton de Kock, on one end, resorted to singles, Dussen showed signs of aggression. He hit Chris Woakes for a boundary and a six combined with singles and accumulated 14 runs off the 6th over. South Africa were 40/1 at the end of the mandatory powerplay.
De Kock and Dussen batted along well and kept their side’s cruise sailing at a rate of over 6 runs per over. The duo completed their 50 run partnership for the 3rd wicket in the 10th over in front of a seemingly ineffective England bowling attack. They further nurtured their partnership to 71 runs before Adil Rashid came and spoiled their party by dismissing de Kock for 34 runs and South Africa’s scorecard read 86/2 in 11.2 overs at that point in time.
Rassie van der Dussen carries out carnage
Rassie van der Dussen showed glimpses of his aggressive side of batting with occasional boundaries and sixes. He unsettled England bowlers to a great extent while anchoring his side towards a big total.
After de Kock’s dismissal, new batter Aiden Markram arrived at the crease. Dussen reached his 6th half-century in T20Is following a single on the first ball of the 13th over, and further took the South African score above the 100-run mark with a six over backward square leg.
Aiden Markram too got into the groove as he started pacing up with his companion by hitting a brilliant six off Adil Rashid in the 14th over. The duo opened t