South Africa made it two wins from two in the T20 World Cup Super 8s with a seven-run victory over England on Friday, edging them closer to the final four.(Highlights | Cricket News)
Quinton de Kock starred for the Proteas, but it was Anrich Nortje who ensured England could not win thanks to his bowling in the final over.
South Africa got off to the perfect start, registering their second-most productive powerplay in the tournament so far, without losing a wicket.
De Kock hit his half-century off 22 balls, eventually finishing with 65. However, they soon slipped away as England rallied.
Despite an early over costing him 21 runs, Archer finished strongly on 3-40, helped by some superb catching from Jos Buttler as England eventually limited them to 163-6.
However, England could not keep that momentum going when they stepped up to bat, getting just 41 runs in their own powerplay – their lowest tally this year.
It was not until the introduction of Harry Brook (53) and Liam Livingstone (33) that they found their groove, but when the former got caught in the in the final over, Sam Curran and Jofra Archer could not get the 14 runs they needed from the final five balls, finishing just short on 156-6.
Data Debrief: Records aplenty for De Kock
De Kock has scored back-to-back fifties at the T20 World Cup, but his tally today equalled the fastest half-century of the tournament (USA's Aaron Jones also got 50 off 22 balls).
His 49 runs in the powerplay is the most by a South Africa batter at a men's T20 World Cup, beating his own previous record of 46 against England in 2016.
