AI Simulation, ENG vs SA | Harry Brook and Jofra Archer keep England’s redemption hopes alive

Pitch and Weather

The surface at Old Trafford had a tinge of grass and assisted seamers with a bit of extra bounce at the start, but was still a fairly good track for the majority of the game as batters enjoyed playing and scoring runs and timing their strokes at the venue

The recorded temperature in Manchester was 16 degrees Celsius, and the conditions remained clear throughout the entire game.

Toss 

England won the toss and chose to bat first.

Lineups

England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (c), Sam Curran, Tom Banton, Will Jacks, Jofra Archer, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood.

South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Ryan Rickelton (wk), Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Kwena Maphaka, Lizaad Williams

Match Report

England won the toss and elected to bat first on a decent-looking track at Old Trafford and started the game with some fearless strokes from Philip Salt and some sensible strike rotation by Jos Buttler at the other end. With the two openers looking good at the crease, the hosts had ended the powerplay on a solid score of 55/0. The partnership was looking good, with Buttler starting to free his arms after the first six overs, until Corbin Bosch broke the 72-run stand in the eighth over with the wicket of Salt. Though the talented opener was dismissed after an explosive knock of 42 off just 25 deliveries, the hosts were still in a dominant position at the end of 10 overs, with the score reading 90/1. There was a bit of respite for South Africa straight after the break as Buttler’s good-looking innings of 38 off 26 came to an end in the 12th over as his middle stump was uprooted by Kagiso Rabada. However, England skipper Harry Brook continued the run flow after his dismissal, with a little bit of support from Jacob Bethell at the other end. Brook brought up his half-century in only 28 balls before he was finally dismissed in the 15th over by Rabada on a score of 55. After Brooks' wicket, the Rainbow Nation managed to make a slight comeback with Marco Jansen dismissing both Bethell and Tom Banton in the next over. With these two productive overs, the England score was restricted to 145/5 after 16 overs. Though the last couple of overs might have put a little bit of a break on the scoring rate, the cameos from Sam Curran and Will Jacks towards the backend helped England reach a competitive score of 189/5.

The South African chase started with openers Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton taking a slightly cautious approach, with Jofra Archer creating problems with the new ball early on. However, they were able to finish the power play on a decent score of 45/0 with a couple of expensive overs towards the end. Unfortunately, as soon as the two batters started to find some rhythm, Adil Rashid broke the 64-run stand in the eighth over as Rickelton was deceived by a loopy top spinner on a score of 29 off 20 deliveries. Despite the minor blip, Markram continued the run flow and was supported by Dewald Brevis, who put the pressure on the England bowlers with his attacking strokeplay. The partnership between the two was looking good until Sam Curran got the crucial wicket of Aiden Markram, as his prolific knock of 46 off 30 deliveries came to an end in the 12th over. After the Proteas skipper’s wicket, the situation went from bad to worse as Jofra Archer added salt to the wounds as he dismissed Brevis on 33 with a toe-crushing yorker in the 14th. Though Donovan Ferreira and Tristan Stubbs tried to keep the game alive with a few big hits, the two explosive batters succumbed under pressure and failed to convert their starts. While Stubbs saw his furniture being disturbed by Rashid in the 15th over, Ferriera mistimed a slower bouncer by Curran straight down the throat of square leg in the 16th. The chase got even tougher for the African nation as Archer returned for his final over and got the wickets of Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Corbin Bosch to complete his three-wicket haul. With the tail exposed, South Africa needed another 30 runs from the last three overs, with Jansen being the last recognised batter at the crease. Though the tall and lanky all-rounder tried his best to take the game as deep as possible with a 15-run cameo, he did not get much support from the other end as Rabada and Kwena Maphaka were dismissed by Luke Wood in the 19th over. In the end, the visitors were restricted to 176/9 in their 20 overs, and England kept the series alive at 1-1 with a 13-run win. 

Player of the match

Jofra Archer was awarded the player of the match for his incredible spell of 3/24 in his full quota of four overs.

Scorecard

AI, Simulation, ENG vs SA | England keep series alive with 13-run win at Old Trafford

— SportsCafe (@IndiaSportscafe)