ENG vs SA T20Is | South Africa go 1-0 up after winning rain-interrupted match in Cardiff

‌South Africa started the T20 leg of their England tour with a 14-run win in a rain-curtailed game at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Thursday. Captain Aiden Markram, Dewald Brevis, and Donovan Ferreira all contributed with quickfire knocks as the Proteas powered to 97/5 in 7.5 overs before another spell of rain ended the first innings. However, England fell short of the DLS revised target of 69, ending at 54/5 in five overs.

After persistent rains delayed the toss and reduced the match to nine overs a side, England put South Africa in. The Proteas had a forgettable start as Luke Wood dismissed opener Ryan Rickelton for a first-ball duck. However, Markram smashed Jamie Overton for the first six of the match before hitting a six and a four in Luke Wood’s next over as the score read 33/1 after the powerplay of 2.4 overs. The Lucknow Super Giants batter top-scored for the Proteas with his 14-ball 28 before Brevis and Ferreira targeted the spinners. The pair smashed five sixes off Liam Dawson and Adil Rashid to plunder 35 runs in their two overs. Another expensive over from Overton saw him concede two sixes as rain brought a close to the first innings after 7.5 overs. Ferreira and Brevis hit three sixes each in their 11-ball 25 and 10-ball 23 cameos, respectively, while left-arm pacer Luke Wood finished with 2/22 in two overs.

With more time lost due to inclement weather, the home side was given a revised target of 69 to be chased in five overs. England also had an identically horrific start as Kagiso Rabada sent back Phil Salt for a golden duck. But fellow opener Jos Buttler responded with a four and a six in the same over to keep them in the game. But Marco Jansen dismissed Jacob Bethell in the last ball of the powerplay as the game was in the balance again, with the score reading 17/2 after 1.3 overs. Buttler welcomed pacer Corbin Bosch with a six off the first ball of the third over, but England lost captain Harry Brook in the same over. The former England captain tried his best to keep the match alive with another maximum off Jansen in the fourth over, but the left-arm pacer had the last laugh, inducing an edge from him. The England wicketkeeper-batter smashed three sixes and a four during his 11-ball 25 as the equation swelled to 26 off six balls. Bosch accounted for Tom Banton in the first ball before giving away only 11 runs to defend the target successfully. Bosch ended with 2/20 in two overs, while Jansen got 2/18 in his two.