ENG v SA World T20 Review: Joe Root decimates South Africa

Faces in the Wankhede crowd painted in Protea green dropped their shoulders and hung their heads in shame. They had just been vanquished by a side that they had crushed on home soil earlier this year. It was a strange feeling as barely an hour back, all those faces were smiling and jumping in the fun and frolic of the Wankhede air. For those faces with the England flag, it was another story. Their World T20 campaign had been miraculously revived by one man. One many by the name Joe Root. England’s — wicket win now witnesses them bag an important two points and more importantly, a substantial increment in the net run rate.

With a win and only a win guaranteeing them survival, Eoin Morgan virtually won the match with the toss of the coin. A batting paradise, the dew factor looming large and most importantly, a must-win situation, Morgan invited his counterpart Faf du Plessis and his Proteas to have a bat first. Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock made their ways out, knowing that a high score was a massive possibility, especially, with an inexperienced England bowling attack. Amla, as he always does, put together a wonderful batting performance. Aggression, elegance, and class. Three things that ensured that Amla smashed his 58 off just 31 balls. Whether the wicket is good or bad, on his day, Amla is an absolute treat to watch. His compilation included 7 boundaries and 3 sixes. If Amla’s innings was amazing, Quinton de Kock’s was simply superb. He provided great support to his partner at the other end with his devastating innings decimating the England bowlers. In just 7 overs, the Proteas had raced away to 96.

AB de Villiers’ brief stay at the wicket was something of a disappointment to the Wankhede crowd who had turned up in their numbers to watch the South African phenomenon ply his trade. However, as far as AB de Villiers was concerned, it was 2 6’s and the job completed. Yet another failure with the bat saw southpaw JP Duminy walk out, ahead of Chris Morris and even the in-form David Miller. Duminy repaid the faith almost immediately by depositing the ball into the stands. It seemed as though the fantastic Mr. Duminy had regained his form almost overnight. He swept with the delicate ease that everyone is used to seeing and whacked the cricket ball ten rows back on three occasions. His unbeaten 54 off just 28 ensured that the Proteas had scaled the ultimate peak. A total of 229 seemed massive as the Brits, with a strong batting backbone made their way out to chase the South African total.

Watching the likes of Jason Roy and Alex Hales was like watching a 10-year old playing a game of virtual cricket on the Xbox. Despite all his God-given aggression, Kagiso Rabada, and Dale Steyn certainly failed to see what was coming their way. Jason Roy’s first ball boundary signaled an intent the Brits had probably never shown in the past few years. 21 runs of the first overthrew the Proteas into a crisis meeting. Dale Steyn finally emerged with the ball, with Faf du Plessis thrusting his faith in the 32-year old workhorse. This time, it was the turn of Alex Hales. Apart from a dropped catch, the cricket ball took an absolute pounding at the hands of Alex Hales. He smashed 23 runs of the Dale Steyn over. This was certainly unfamiliar ground for the South Africans, having beaten the Brits as many times as they have done in the past, Kyle Abbott had marginal success with the ball as he quickly removed the two openers. However, despite the twin strikes, the damage had been done. Rabada triggered the demise of Ben Stokes as the match once again turned the way of the Proteas.

England skipper Eoin Morgan single-handedly almost gifted the match to the Proteas with a 15 ball 12. His stay in the middle saw 28 balls reach the grasp of the fielders either up close or in the deep. Now 28 balls without a boundary are certainly cause for concern. Enter Joe Root. Joe Root is a player who strikes a cricket fan as someone who is of the archetypal batsman, someone who doesn’t venture out to play more than certain types of strokes. However, tonight was the night Joe Root would throw the kitchen sink at South Africa. A massive piece of willow in hand, perhaps the best batting track in the world at the moment, this was Joe Root’s moment, his stage to shine. Big hits flowed from his bat relentlessly as he spared no one in a green and gold jersey. JP Duminy, Kyle Abbott, Imran Tahir and others were absolutely decimated. Kagiso Rabada, the youngster was taken to the cleaners by Root. And mind you, this wasn’t the typical ‘swing the bat’ innings from Root. If the first ball went ten rows back, the second would see Jos Buttler take strike. The term usually associated is ‘Mature batting’.

His 44 ball 83 included 4 sixes and 6 fours. He just made it look so easy. A piece of drama enacted itself at the very end when Chris Jordan and David Willey lost their wickets in quick succession. However, a calm Moeen Ali finished off the job for the Brits as they picked up their first points in Group A. Man of the match? No prizes for guessing as it was Joe Root for his blitzkrieg of an innings.

Brief Scores

South Africa: 229/4 in 20 overs (Amla 58; Ali 2/34)

England: 230/8 in 19.4 overs (Root 83; Abbott 3/41)

Man of the match: Joe Root