SA vs ENG | 'Bitter-sweet end for us', says Temba Bavuma as South Africa exit tournament despite win over England

11/06/2021

After registering a thrilling 10-run victory against England on Saturday in Sharjah, captain Temba Bavuma stated that despite the tournament exit, the team is happy with the win over the Eoin Morgan-led side. For South Africa, Rassie van der Dussen stole the show as he smashed 94 off 60 balls.

After winning the toss, England opted to bowl first, and Moeen Ali started off well for his team as he scalped the wicket of Reeza Hendricks (2) in the third over. However, opener Quinton de Kock (34), partnered for a 71-runs stand along with Rassie van der Dussen before the former departed in the 12th over. Aiden Markram (52*), who walked out to bat at No.4 scored a brisk fifty, whereas Van der Dussen stood solid at one end and anchored the South Africa innings with his unbeaten 94 off 60 balls.

In reply, Jason Roy and Jos Buttler partnered for a 38-run stand before the former left the field as he sustained an injury. The England wicket-keeper batsman, who scored a century in his last outing fell to Anrich Nortje in the sixth over. Jonny Bairstow could not contribute much to the England innings as he managed to score only 1 run in his 3-ball stay. However, Moeen Ali (37) and Dawid Malan (33) partnered for a 51-run stand before the former departed in the 13th over. Malan and Liam Livingstone (28) struck boundaries and sixes at regular intervals, but a disciplined bowling performance from the South Africa bowlers and Kagiso Rabada's hat-trick in the final over restricted England to 179/8.

Temba Bavuma stated that his side played quality cricket to win over England.

"The win was important. 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. The young guys will learn a lot from this. I think this is going to give us a lot of experience and confidence. It'll give us a lot of knowledge on how to go about things forward," said Bavuma after the match.

Rassie van der Dussen, who was adjudged Man of the Match for his swashbuckling innings, stated that beating the best side at the tournament is a great moment.

"It (the award) doesn't mean too much in the context, but we knew we had to get a good score. We were asking too much from the bowlers to defend that score in order to get into the semis. At the end of the day, it was a good performance, beating a good side. It's a type of a wicket, where the new batters needed time to get in, you saw that in their innings when they lost wickets. So Markram and I tried to get in and get a good total. The three venues are so different. The match against Bangladesh, the pitch was different, it was difficult to bat there. Today it kept low, from the batting point of view it has been quite a challenge to adjust to the three venues. The batting units who have adapted the quickest have been the most successful," said Van der Dussen after the match

Despite a 10-run victory against England, South Africa are knocked out of the tournament due to poor NRR in Group 1.