Ngidi stars as SA beat England by one run in T20 thriller

EAST LONDON, South Africa: Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi took three wickets in his last two overs as South Africa snatched a thrilling one-run win in the first Twenty20 international against England at Buffalo Park on Wednesday.

Jason Roy and captain Eoin Morgan hit half-centuries for England and they looked well on the way to chasing down South Africa’s total of 177 for eight. But the match changed dramatically in the last three overs as England lost six wickets for 24 runs to finish on 176 for nine.

England needed just seven to win off the last over but Ngidi dismissed Tom Curran and Moeen Ali while conceding only five runs. Adil Rashid was run out off the last ball, trying for an improbable second run which would have tied the scores.

He couldn’t beat a calm return from midwicket from veteran fast bowler Dale Steyn. South Africa captain Quinton de Kock pointed out both teams struggled to score freely towards the end of their innings as the ball got softer and the bounce lower.

“We knew if we made sure we kept to our basics that we could win,” he said Both innings followed a similar pattern. Both teams scored 68 runs in the first six-over power play and both had scored 113 runs after 12 overs before slowing down in the closing overs.

Roy was brutal in reaching his fifty off 22 balls on the way to scoring 70 off 38 deliveries with seven fours and three sixes. Morgan seemed set to take his team to victory, hitting Beuran Hendricks for two fours and a six in the penultimate over before holing out off the last ball of the over after making 52.

Earlier, De Kock (31) and Temba Bavuma (43) got South Africa off to a fast start, putting on 48 for the first wicket off 26 balls. Rassie van der Dussen (31) joined Bavuma and the pair added 63 for the second wicket off 41 deliveries before Van der Dussen fell to Ben Stokes and the innings lost momentum.

England won toss

South Africa

T Bavuma c Ali b Rashid 43

*†Q de Kock c Denly b Ali 31

H van der Dussen c Bairstow b Stokes 31

D Miller c Jordan b T Curran 16

J Smuts c Stokes b Wood 20

A Phehlukwayo run out 18

D Pretorius b Jordan 1

B Hendricks b Jordan 0

D Steyn not out 5

Extras (b2, lb5, nb2, w3) 12

Total (8 wkts, 20 overs) 177

Did not bat: T Shamsi, L Ngidi

Fall: 1-48, 2-111, 3-113, 4-135, 5-170, 6-172, 7-172, 8-177

Bowling: Ali 4-0-22-1, T Curran 3-0-41-1, Wood 3-0-32-1, Jordan 3-0-28-2, Rashid 4-0-23-1, Stokes 3-0-24-1

England

J Roy c Ngidi b Hendricks 70

†J Buttler c Miller b Steyn 15

J Bairstow lbw b Phehlukwayo 23

*E Morgan c Bavuma b Hendricks 52

J Denly c Van der Dussen b Phehlukwayo 3

B Stokes c Miller b Ngidi 4

M Ali b Ngidi 5

T Curran c Miller b Ngidi 2

C Jordan not out 0

A Rashid run out 1

Extras (lb1) 1

Total (9 wkts, 20 overs) 176

Did not bat: M Wood

Fall: 1-19, 2-91, 3-132, 4-137, 5-152, 6-171, 7-173, 8-175, 9-176

Bowling: Steyn 4-0-33-1, Ngidi 4-0-30-3, Smuts 1-0-22-0, Phehlukwayo 4-0-32-2, Shamsi 4-0-25-0, Hendricks 3-0-33-2

Result: South Africa won by 1 run

Man of the Match: Lungi Ngidi (South Africa)

Series: South Africa lead the three-match series 1-0

Umpires: Adrian Holdstock and Bongani Jele (South Africa). TV umpire: Allahudien Palekar (South Africa). Match referee: David Boon (Australia)