South Africa took away a consolation win against England in Sharjah on Saturday after they bowed out of the tournament because of less NRR than the English side and Australia. After setting a target of 190 in 20 overs, the Proteas needed to restrict the Eoin Morgan-led side to or less than 131 to make it to the semis of this edition’s T20 World Cup.
England started off the chase in an aggressive manner but Roy was retired hurt while Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow departed in quick succession leaving the side in a spot of bother as they were reduced to 59/2 in 6.2 overs.
Later, Moeen Ali and Dawid Malan came up for the rescue and stitched a stand of 51 runs for the third wicket. Moeen was eventually undone for a 27-ball 37 by Tabraiz Shamsi but Malan then joined hands with Liam Livingstone to put up a partnership of 35 runs for the fourth wicket. Malan was then dismissed for 33 off 26 by Pretorious while Livingstone was sent back in the hut for 28 off 17.
The English team still looked in contention of stealing away a win as they needed 14 off the last over with Eoin Morgan and Chris Woakes at the crease. South Africa captain Temba Bavuma handed the ball to Kagiso Rabada who has had a bad day at the office.
The right-arm bowler anchored the side to a 10-run win eventually after picking up three wickets on the first three balls of the final over to claim a hattrick. England were restricted to 179/8 in 20 overs.
Rabada’s hat trick included the dismissals of Woakes, Morgan and Chris Jordan.
Earlier, in the day, riding on some brutal batting from Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram, South Africa posted a total of 189/2 in 20 overs. While van der Dussen remained unbeaten at 94 off 60 deliveries, Markram struck 52 off 25 during the course.
With the conclusion of this particular encounter, England and Australia have qualified for the semis for Group 1 while Pakistan have already made a place for themselves from Group 2 and the fourth team’s fate depends upon the result of the match between New Zealand and Afghanistan. The Blackcaps, Afghanistan and India are in the race for that spot.
South Africa captain Bavuma admitted that it was an important win for the side. “The win was important. The bitter-sweet end for us. We achieved what we wanted to - win the game but just couldn't win it big enough. At the start of the tournament, that (net run rate) was never a factor for us, we just wanted to win games. It's always tough to make up for that at the back end, especially against a team like England,” he said in the post-match presentation.