ICC Champions Trophy: South Africa Vs England: England makes it to semi-finals
England beat South Africa by 22 runs in the nail biting league match of the group B at Centurion.
Chasing 324, host South Africa tried their best to reach the target but ended with 301 thereby closing their semi-finals dreams.
After an exceptional innings from Owais Shah and Eoin Morgan, Smith forced England to battle every step of the way, and at 206 for 3 with 14 overs to go, a crushing reversal was not out of the question. However, James Anderson put the game safe with the nerveless figures of 3 for 42 in ten overs, and when Smith himself was ninth man out with 19 balls remaining, South Africa had to face up once more to the humiliation of exiting a global tournament on home soil at the very first hurdle.
It was a startling contest that continued the unlikeliest revival in international cricket. With one shock result already notched up against Sri Lanka, England entered this crunch contest with such confidence that not even the late withdrawal of their wicketkeeper, Matt Prior, could rattle their resolve.
The best performance of the day came from Owais shah, the Man of the match. With a slow but steady 44 in the victory over Sri Lanka, he launched himself into top gear with a brilliant 98 from 89 balls that included five fours and six sixes – five of which came in a 13-ball onslaught in those habitually stagnant middle overs.
Tit-bits:
- England’s 323 for 8 is their highest ODI score against South Africa and their third-highest overseas.
- England’s 12 sixes is the most they’ve struck in an innings in ODIs. Their previous-highest was against New Zealand in Napier last year.
- Owais Shah was especially harsh on Albie Morkel (27 off 23) and Roelof van der Merwe (29 off 26).
- Eoin Morgan took Dale Steyn for 18 in 8, Wayne Parnell for 23 in 11 and Johan Botha for 19 in 12. He had a strike-rate of over 100 against every bowler he faced.
- England scored 48 runs in their batting powerplay, and 92 in the last ten overs.
- Graeme Smith’s 141 is the second-highest score in a losing cause for South Africa in ODIs. Herschelle Gibbs tops the list with 143 against New Zealand in the 2003 World Cup.