Johannesburg - The Proteas produced one of their best performances in the shortest format and at the same time put the national selectors in a pickle.
Victor Mpistang the chairman of selectors will need luck and the wisdom of Solomon to pick a 15-man squad for the World Cup that will be hosted by Australia in October. The top order in particular will prove tricky with Reeza Hendricks, who until this series had been a player who’d been in and out of the side, doing more than enough to suggest he demands a permanent spot.
Hendricks again anchored the innings, and with his third half century in a row, was another display of his composure, which has been the most pleasing aspect of his play in this series. There was some luck with four of his nine boundaries coming from edges - three off the inside and another off the outside, which also clipped his helmet on its journey to the ropes.
One of the best catches you'll ever see 👏
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 31, 2022
Scorecard/clips: https://t.co/kgIS4BWSbC
🏴![CDATA[]]>![CDATA[]]>![CDATA[]]>![CDATA[]]>![CDATA[]]>![CDATA[]]> #ENGvSA 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 pic.twitter.com/FBlAOf3HUM
Most importantly he kept a steady rhythm in partnership with Rilee Rossouw (31) for a second wicket stand worth 55 runs and then in 87-run third wicket stand with Aiden Markram, who was called in to replace Heinrich Klaasen.
Using the big outfield smartly, Hendricks and Co. ran lots of twos, and crucially they showed patience through two rain delays that totalled 25 minutes.
Having not hit a boundary for six overs after the power play, South Africa accelerated from the 13th over onwards, when Markram struck Chris Jordan for four over midwicket. The Proteas bashed 98 runs in the last eight overs, with Markram going to a seventh half-century; three of those have come in his last five innings, two against England.
Hendricks could afford to sacrifice his wicket, with a top edge off Jordan flying to Buttler who took a diving catch on the legside. Hendricks’s 70 which came off 50 balls, included nine fours. He finished the series with an aggregate of 180 runs, but more impressively a strike rate of 156.52.
David Miller, who became the first South African man to play 100 T20 Internationals made 22 off nine balls, while Markram finished unbeaten on 51.
The Proteas gave the home team no room to breath in their run chase with the fielding display - both on the ground and with their catching - of the highest class.
The highlight was a magnificent diving catch by Tristan Stubbs, who threw himself to his left and with one hand held a sublime grab to end Moeen Ali’s innings.
Tabraiz Shamsi’s career best of 5-24 inspires the Proteas to a comprehensive 90-run victory as they take the #ENGvSA T20I series 2-1 having lost the opening match 🏆
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) July 31, 2022
Match scorecard 👇
Tabraiz Shamsi, who struggled in the first match, weaved his magic, to take 5/24, claiming a first five wicket haul in the T20 cricket.
It was a performance across all three departments that has set a benchmark for the Proteas and will have been noted by their rivals ahead of the T20 World Cup later this year.
South Africa 191/5
England 101