Curran holds nerve as England edge past SA in thriller to level T20 series

Tom Curran struck late with two successive wickets off the last two deliveries of the match as England held their nerves to beat South Africa in the second T20 on Friday.

With the victory, England have drawn level the three-match series 1-1, after losing the opener. The series decider will be played on Sunday.

In a high-scoring match, England posted a huge total of 204/7, with the help of Moeen Ali’s blitzkrieg cameo, wherein he smashed a 11-ball 39 as the visitors amassed a whopping 79 in the last five overs before restricting the hosts to 202/7.

South African captain Quinton de Kock led from the front with a fiery 65 off 22 deliveries. He hit eight sixes and shared a 92-run stand with Temba Bavuma for the first wicket to set the tone.

After a ferocious Mark Wood got rid of both the openers, England seemed to have tighten their grip on the game and cruising towards an easy win.

But Rassie van der Dussen (43 not out) and Dwaine Pretorius (25) put up a gritty fight to keep their hopes alive till the last ball of the match. South Africa needed 15 off the last over and Pretorius hit 12 of them before being trapped leg before by a yorker.

 Bjorn Fortuin, playing his first innings in a T20 international, tried to flick the last ball from Curran to fine leg but was caught by Adil Rashid, running back from the edge of the 30m circle.

 The umpires asked for a television replay to ensure he had not crossed the line before the ball was bowled, which would have meant too many fielders were outside the circle. The replay showed he only moved as the ball was delivered

 “The performance and the level of intensity we operated at was a considerable improvement on (the first match in) East London, both with the bat and the ball,” said England captain Eoin Morgan.

 As in the first match, which South Africa won by one run, the result hinged on the last few deliveries.

 England needed three off the last two balls in East London but lost a wicket and scored only one run. South Africa were in exactly the same situation on Friday but lost two wickets.

 “Both teams are playing really good cricket,” said De Kock. “They (England) bowled really well at the death.”

 England’s total looked unlikely when Ali walked in with his side on 125 for five after 15.1 overs.

 The left-handed Ali hit his second ball from Andile Phehlukwayo for six and launched a stunning assault in which he hit three more sixes and three fours in his short innings before being caught at long-on.

 Ali dominated a sixth wicket stand of 51 off 18 balls with Ben Stokes, who finished on 47 not out.

 “I went on my instincts to try and put pressure back on the bowlers,” said Ali.

Agencies