South Africa and England batsmen have lit the World T20 with some brilliant batting display at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Friday. More than 450 runs were scored in a game, which saw England emerge victorious in a high-scoring contest by two wickets.
England, with the help of Joe Root and Jason Roy's brilliant batting performance, reached the target of 230 runs with two balls to spare. England can take huge confidence from this game as it is the highest-run chase in World T20 history as well.
With England chasing a massive total, their openers – Jason Roy and Alex Hales – had to take advantage of the powerplay, and they did not disappoint, scoring at an amazing rate of more than 15 runs per over before losing their first wicket (Hales) in the third over for 48 runs. Still, Roy kept England in the game, scoring runs freely.
However, Roy was dismissed for a well-made 16-ball 43 in the fifth over. He had provided a solid platform for other players such as Root, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, to take advantage of. Though Eoin Morgan and Stokes might have looked good, they could not convert their start into meaningful scores. England were 111 for the loss of four wickets.
Root and Buttler did not give up, though, the task looked humongous. The pair began to play some aggressive cricket, and was gradually inching closer to the required target. Root and Buttler did not take much risks, but played some quality cricket shots to gradually put England in the frontfoot.
Root continued his amazing batting display even after England lost Buttler's wicket in the 16th over. However, Root could not finish the game as he lost his wicket in the 19th over with England requiring 11 runs only. Moeen Ali finished the game in the last over of the match with two balls remaining.
Earlier, South Africa, who were asked to bat by England, hit the English bowlers all around the park. None of the England bowlers were spared as the South Africa batsmen scored runs at an impressive rate. Spinner Moeen Ali was the least expensive England bowler, with an economy rate of 8.5 runs per over, which reflects Proteas' dominance with the bat.
All their batsmen contributed to the team's massive total of 229 runs. The openers – Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock – provided a brilliant start, scoring 83 runs from six overs, which provided a perfect base for batsmen such as David Miller, Ab de Villiers and JP Duminy to exploit. Amla, Kock and Duminy scored an impressive half-century each.
South Africa after scoring 229 runs were expected to win, but the England batsmen proved too strong for the Proteas' bowlers.
