T20 World Cup 2024: De Kock and Bowlers Kept South Africa’s Streak Alive

T20 World Cup 2024: De Kock and Bowlers Kept South Africa’s Streak Alive

Quinton de Kock making 65 runs, while England managed 156 runs in the same number of overs, with Harry Brook scoring 53 runs.

Quinton de Kock’s amazing batting and South Africa’s strong bowling led to a close seven-run victory over England on Friday (June 21) in Barbados. De Kock scored 65 runs from 38 balls, the best performance on a tough pitch. South Africa’s bowling was excellent in the powerplay and in the end, securing the win.

The Divergence: De Kock’s Powerplay Performance

The game had many surprises, with several key moments open for debate. However, the powerplay was likely the most crucial. The pitch’s inconsistent pace made the first six overs critical. De Kock’s aggressive play helped South Africa score 63 runs, with him contributing 49 off 20 balls, giving them an advantage. On the other hand, England scored 41 runs in the powerplay, despite losing just one wicket. This was a remarkable dissimilarity.

South Africa:

Initial Overs - 63/0 [RR: 10.50, 4s/6s: 4/4]

In this tournament, the game at North Sound was different from the others. Reeza Hendricks struggled to get going, but Quinton De Kock played brilliantly from the start. He hit Jofra Archer for 20 runs in just one over. Even when England changed bowlers, bringing in Moeen Ali, De Kock kept hitting aggressively, scoring a six and a four off Ali. The only time South Africa didn’t score much was in the first over of the Powerplay, bowled by Reece Topley.

Middle Overs - 52/4 [RR:5.78, 4s/6s:4/0]

Jos Butler and Adil Rashid played brilliantly in the middle of the game. Rashid bowled very well, only giving away 20 runs and getting a wicket. His clever bowling made it hard for South Africa to score. Buttler, the captain, also did great fielding. He caught a difficult catch to remove a key South African player, de Kock. Buttler also ran out Klaasen, who was trying to score against spin bowling. Because of their efforts, South Africa lost their advantage earlier in the game.

Death overs- 48/2 [RR: 9.6, 4s/6s: 4/2]

South Africa wanted to score more than 180 runs, especially because Quinton de Kock had started well. But during the middle part of their innings, they lost wickets quickly and couldn't score as many runs as they wanted. David Miller played well and gave hope for a strong finish with Tristan Stubbs. However, England's bowlers were very good at the end of the innings. They bowled cleverly and didn't give many easy balls to hit. South Africa could only manage 48 runs in the last 30 balls they faced. England's fielders also did a great job, catching difficult catches in the final overs. This made it even harder for South Africa to score quickly at the end.

England: 

Initial overs- 41/1 [RR: 6.83, 4s/6s: 3/1]

England usually scores fast early in their cricket matches, but this time they struggled. They lost a wicket early and couldn't hit many runs. South Africa's bowlers did well. Philip Salt hit a big six early on but then got out to a great catch by Reeza Hendricks. Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow also found it hard to score runs. The pitch wasn't helping either. So, England had a tough job ahead to catch up and win the match.

Middle overs- 64/3 [RR: 7.11, 4s/6s: 5/1]

Bairstow and Buttler couldn't keep up the pace and got out to Maharaj's tricky bowling. Moeen Ali faced fastballs and also got out. Now, Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone had a tough job on a tricky field. They didn't seem worried, though. They hit the ball around and got a few points. In the 15th over, Rabada threw a ball that got 18 points. Livingstone hit a six, and Brook got two more points. This helped England a lot in their chase.

Death overs- 51/2 [RR: 10.20, 4s/6s: 6/1]

In the 15th over, Brook and Livingstone hit some good shots, setting England up for a strong finish. They continued well into the 16th over, with Brook hitting two fours and Livingstone smashing two fours and a six. England looked set to win needing 25 runs from 18 balls. But then, South Africa's Rabada bowled well in the 18th over, only giving away 4 runs and taking the key wicket of Livingstone. Jansen followed with another great over, also just giving away 4 runs. This put pressure on England, needing 14 runs from the last over. Unfortunately, Nortje got Brook out on the first ball, which made it very hard for England to win. They couldn't catch up, and South Africa won the match.

Summary of scores: 

South Africa scored 163 runs in their 20 overs with Quinton de Kock making 65 runs, while England managed 156 runs in the same number of overs, with Harry Brook scoring 53 runs. South Africa won the match by seven runs, helped by Jofra Archer taking three wickets for England and Keshav Maharaj taking two wickets for South Africa.