England 192 for 1 (Malan 99 *, Buttler 67 *) beat South Africa 191 for 3 (van der Dussen 74 *, du Plessis 52 *) for nine windows
A world record partnership between Dawid Malan and Jos Buttler saw England review an impressive total from South Africa with ease and sweep their T20I series 3-0 at Newlands.
A century-long, uninterrupted struggle between Rassie van der Dussen and Faf du Plessis threatened to save some of South African pride. But England proved too good again when Malan and Buttler sidestepped their efforts with an undefeated 167-race pair, the highest second-field position in T20I.
Man of the Game for the second time in a row, and Player of the Series, Malan was undefeated with 99 of just 47 deliveries, while Buttler was not out with 67 of 46 to give England a nine-wicket victory with 14 balls to spare. and watch his team pass Australia at the top of the ICC rankings.
Van der Dussen and du Plessis joined in with their stuttering side at 64 of 3, but racked up 127 of 66 deliveries, including 84 runs in the final five overs, to set England a goal of 192 when neither side had hit 190 seconds. in New lands. Van der Dussen’s undefeated at 74, with just 32 balls, was his highest score in T20I.
South Africa were left without fast pitcher Kagiso Rabada due to a groin strain and their players lacked penetration as Malan and Buttler dominated the attack.
Star union
South Africa seemed in danger of getting bogged down in their innings, but Reeza Hendricks’ sacking brought du Plessis and van der Dussen together and it didn’t take them long to find their rhythm.
Van der Dussen scored the first of his five sixes, pulling Ben Stokes on the deep square leg to double his score to 12, but it was only the beginning. Tom Curran’s second over, on the 16th inning, went to 16, finished in the book by two giants of six against Du Plessis.
Van der Dussen then helped himself to 22 runs from Jofra Archer in the next over, taking his 50 from just 23 balls with South Africa looking much healthier at 145 for 3.
Du Plessis lifted his fifty-of-37 balls with Sam Curran’s four threads out of the third man. It was his second half-century of the series after his 58th in the same spot in the opener.
England’s fielding was not at its best, and on the last ball of innings Sam Curran caught van der Dussen on the edge, but threw the ball thinking, possibly by mistake, that he was going to touch the rope, but not. strong enough for Archer. to catch a relief catch. It didn’t matter, since by then the damage was done, or so it seemed.
That man Malan (and Buttler too)
Malan Man of the Match, as England sealed an unassailable 2-0 series lead in Paarl on Sunday, he improved himself and further marked his authority as the world’s best hitter in this format.
He needed the help of DRS to overturn a lbw decision at 16 when it was discovered that Lungi Ngidi’s pitching had thrown the outside leg. Malan was the winner again when, returning for a second run, he found himself very short when Temba Bavuma threw the ball brilliantly at Quinton de Kock, who broke the stumps with his gloves but the ball lodged in his stomach.
In those moments, however, Malan was dominant, scoring five sixes, including a monstrous 94-meter effort on the ground with a slower ball from Ngidi, and 11 fours. Buttler was in good shape too, hitting five sixes.
With five overs remaining, and nine wickets in hand, England needed just 27 runs and with both batters roaring they made the task seem simple.
Jordan on top
Chris Jordan prevailed once again in a battle with De Kock, whose quick 17 of 12 deliveries couldn’t erase the feeling that he is carrying a heavy burden as a starter, captain and goalkeeper.
In doing so, Jordan took the outright lead as England’s leading land grabbers in T20I with 66, having tied at the height of Stuart Broad in the previous match.
De Kock had scored 11 of 12 runs to come out of Archer’s second over, including a four followed immediately by a huge six that landed in the rubble of a construction site beyond the deep square back. But when Jordan went on the attack in the next over, he hit his fourth ball when De Kock missed in the middle and Tom Curran swallowed an easy catch. It was the third time in this series that Jordan had fired De Kock.
Stokes over and over
Stokes was not used with the ball in the first match and was out of a wicket in the second, conceding 14 in just two overs, but he lived up to his usual billing as the man who makes things happen when he entered the eighth. and hit with his sixth ball.
Bavuma had gotten off to a brilliant start, hitting 32 of 26 balls before Stokes hit for Jordan to catch him midway. Stokes was the capable man once again on his next over when he had Hendricks trapped behind by 13.
Stokes was later injured, cutting his left hand as he ran to the limits after attempting to intercept a van der Dussen blow and caught a sharp edge near the billboards. He left the field, but was later seen patched up and smiling, albeit with some concern about his ability to hold the bat as England faced heavy persecution.
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