South Africa became the first team to beat England in the 2021 20-over World Cup, but it wasn’t enough for them to seal a place in the semi-finals. Batting first, the Proteas posted a mammoth 189. England needed to get past 86 runs to qualify for the knockout stage, while South Africa had to restrict Eoin Morgan’s men to 131 or less to seal their place in the last four. A half-century stand between Moeen Ali and Dawid Malan and Liam Livingstone’s quickfire knock ended South Africa’s qualification hopes. However, Kagiso Rabada’s hat-trick in the final over of the match helped them register a consolation win.
A terrific 94* from Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram’s 25-ball 52* put South Africa in a strong position. The duo added 103 runs in 52 balls as England bowlers had a rare off day in Sharjah. Few England batters got starts but couldn’t convert it into big scores. Moeen top-scored with 37, while Malan and Livingstone made 33 and 28, respectively. Rabada, who was wicketless and went for 45 runs in his first three overs, finished with figures of 3/48 in his four overs. Tabraiz Shamsi and Dwaine Pretorius grabbed two wickets each.
A perfect batting display
After winning the toss, Morgan chose to bowl first on a pitch that favored the team batting first in the last two matches. Mark Wood replaced injured Tymal Mills in the playing 11. South Africa retained the same side that beat Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The Proteas suffered an early setback after Reeza Hendricks departed in the third over. He tried to play a slog sweep and lost his stumps off the bowling of Moeen. Quinton de Kock and van der Dussen steered South Africa to 40/1 at the end of the powerplay. The pair maintained a healthy scoring rate and brought up the fifty stand in the ninth over. van der Dussen unsettled the pacers by hitting a boundary and a six off Chris Jordan and Mark Wood, respectively.
Adil Rashid broke the partnership as de Kock was caught at long-on by Jason Roy for 34. But that didn’t deter South Africa’s charge. van der Dussen and Markram piled misery on England bowlers. Chris Woakes was taken to cleaners thrice in his fourth over, while Wood and Jordan conceded 50 runs in the last four overs. South Africa finished on 189/2, with van der Dussen missing out a maiden T20I hundred by six runs, and Markram registered the second quickest half-century in this edition.
A final-over thriller
South Africa bowlers faced an uphill task against an in-form England top-order. The opening pair added 37 runs in four overs before Roy limped off the field with a leg injury. Anrich Nortje, who conceded 18 runs in his first eight balls, dismissed Jos Buttler in the last over of the powerplay. Shamsi struck in his first over as he trapped Jonny Bairstow in front of the wicket for 1.
The asking rate climbed to ten runs per over. But the new pair Moeen and Malan added 51 runs in six overs. They sealed the semi-final spot and ensured England qualified as the group champions. Moeen cleared the ropes and hit a four off Markram’s second over. With 80 needed from 47 balls, the England all-rounder holed out to David Miller at long-on.
Livingstone ended South Africa’s semi-final hopes after he smacked three consecutive sixes off Rabada in the 16th over. Also, the asking rate came down from 13 to 11. England needed 46 runs from 24 balls. Pretorius struck to remove Malan for 33. But England scored 21 runs from 17th and 18th overs to leave them to get 25 off the last two overs.
The opening delivery of the penultimate over saw Livingstone depart. Morgan struggled to find the boundaries, but Woakes hammered Pretorius for a six. England required 14 off the final six balls. Rabada, who had a poor outing, grabbed a hat-trick as he dismissed Woakes, Morgan, and Jordan in the first three balls. South Africa ended their 20-over World Cup campaign with a ten-run win.
Player of the Match - Rassie van der Dussen
The tall South Africa batter took a leaf out of Buttler's book and played one of the finest knocks in the tournament so far. van der Dussen, who came out to the middle in the third over, added quick runs in the powerplay. He rotated the strike well and wasn’t afraid to take risks. The fifty came in 37 balls, and he made 44 runs off his next 23 deliveries. van der Dussen hit five fours and six sixes on his way to 94*.
Top Fantasy Points scorers
van der Dussen became the first and lone South African player to register 100-plus fantasy points in the 2021 20-over World Cup. He also bagged the most points in the final Group 1 fixture with 123 points. Runner-up Rabada and third-placed Moeen clinched 81 points and 73 points, respectively. Five South African players, including van der Dussen, scored more than 50 points in the match.However, Buttler, one of the most-selected captains, managed 35 points. England pacers - Woakes, Jordan, and Wood - picked up just ten points between them.
The top Fantasy XI: R van der Dussen - 123 pts, K Rabada - 81 pts, M Ali - 73 pts, A Markram - 72 pts, Shamsi - 56 pts, D Pretorius - 52 pts, Q de Kock - 42 pts, D Malan - 42 pts, L Livingstone - 39 pts, A Nortje - 37 pts, J Roy - 36 pts
Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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