On Friday night Wankhede Stadium witnessed one of the best T20 innings played by England young star Joe Root. England chased down record score of 230 in 19.4 Overs. Root was the star of the show as he powered his way to 83 of 44 balls scoring 4 sixes and 4 boundaries.
Joe Root shines in record winning chase
Chasing the mammoth total of 239 England opening batsman gave them the best possible start they could. Jason Roy struck 21 runs of Rabadda in the very first over of the match. South Africa premier bowler Dale Steyn went for 23 runs and soon England were 44/0 in 2 overs. Hales (17 of 7 balls) and Roy (43 of 16 balls) were involved in an opening stand of 48 runs in only 2.3 overs. Soon Aboott got better of Hales in his first over. Stokes coming at No.3 looked good for his 15 of 9 balls but got caught in the deep trying to score quick runs.
South African spinners Tahir (1/28) and Duminy(1/31) slowed down the run scoring in the middle overs. England captain Morgan was dismissed by Duminy and South Africa was again had the upper hand in the contest.
Root was joined by Butler in the middle and both of them displayed some outstanding batting skills. Root on his way struck 4 sixes and 6 boundaries and Buttler with 1 six and 1 four played a great supporting role. Both of them struck 75 runs in only 60 balls. Buttler unfortunately was dismissed by Tahir. Moeen Ali along with Root struck another quick-fire 33 runs of 16 balls helping England come close to winning total. Although only 1 needed of last over England dismissed two wickets but Ali ensured there were no more hiccup’s and crossed the line with 2 balls to spare.
Batting first South Afrcia also batted very well. Both Amla (58 of 31 balls) and De Cock (52 of 34 balls) were at their best. They got South Africa of to a great start scoring 83 runs in first 6 overs. Duminy continued run scoring as he finished with 54 not out of just 39 balls scoring 3 sixes and 3 fours. Du Plesis. Miller and De Villiers all contributed to score helping South Africa post huge total of 229/4 in 20 overs. Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid were the two best bowlers for England as both of them controlled run scoring. Moeen picked 2wickets for 34 runs and Tahir picked 1/35.
It was highest successful run chase by any team in T20 World Cup and second overall in all T20 international matches. Overall 459 runs were scored in the day for the fall of 12 wickets only. Root was declared Man of the Match for his superb knock. Now England has won 1 and lost 1 and South Africa lost their first match in the group.
Brief Score: South Africa 229/4 (Amla 58, De Kock 52, Duminy 54*, Ali (2/34), Rashid(1/35) lost to England 230/8 (Root 83, Roy 43, Abbott 3/41, Rabada 2/50) by 2 wickets.
Tags: England, ICC World T20, South Africa, T20 World Cup, Wankhede Stadium
