England vs South Africa World T20: South Africa team player ratings

England against South Africa was a match to watch in which if South Africa scored a massive 229 in their 20 overs, we got to see an impressive chase by the English batsmen, especially Joe Root. The match became a statistician’s delight as it progressed and South Africa’s tag of ‘chokers’ was against reaffirmed.

Here are the player’s ratings for the match:

Quinton de Kock 7/10

Quinton de Kock ensured that Hashim Amla could play his natural game, while he took on the English opening bowlers Topley and Willey by himself. They were swinging the ball and he was swinging the bat with equal disdain.

Hashim Amla 7/10

For the first time ever, we got to see the aggressive Hashim Amla, who hit his first ball over the covers for four and didn’t show any hesitation in hitting the ball in the air. His 24 ball 52 was a treat to watch and he put on 96 runs in just 7 odd overs, even dominating his young partner de Kock.

AB de Villiers 6/10

A promising innings that didn’t go very far, AB de Villiers had the stage set for himself to make the most of the flattest pitch in the tournament. He started well hitting 2 sixes, but, unfortunately, tried to hit Rashid out of the ground one too many times.

Faf du Plessis 6/10

Captain Faf du Plessis innings was a run a ball 17, but his points get deducted for not being able to subdue the carnage that the English batsmen brought upon the South African bowlers in the chase of 229. Though it might be said that even he couldn’t do much on a flat pitch, but if a captain fails to defend such a big target, points get deducted.

JP Duminy 7/10

JP Duminy showed why the Proteas have so much confidence in him and send him ahead of Killer Miller even in times when quick runs are needed. His 54 off 28 was exactly what the South Africans ordered and though he gave away 31 runs in his 3 overs, he managed to pick up a wicket, giving something to cheer about to the Proteas fans.

David Miller 7/10

Miller’s 28 off 12 balls was exactly the ending South Africa wanted. Though they could have sent him earlier and gave him more balls to play and do more damage, the team management decided to send him at the end. Maybe next time, they would like to promote their best hitter somewhat early and get the maximum out of him.

Chris Morris 6/10

Chris Morris had a day that he would rather forget. Not only had he given away 39 runs in 3 overs, what was surprising was his lack of control over wide balls. Morris could not do anything different when it came to facing the music from Joe Root and company in the epic chase and his IPL team might be rethinking the price they paid for him at the auction.

Kyle Abbott 7/10

Another bowler who went for plenty, but managed to pick up 3 wickets, Abbott was hit all over the park by Joe Root, but he managed to take the game to the last over, thanks to him picking up both the openers Roy and Hales and cleaning up Chris Jordan at the end.

Dale Steyn 5/10

Well the best bowler in the world, Dale Steyn would rather have this day removed from his memory. His first over went for 23 runs, as Jason Roy hit him for 4 fours and a six. This set a tone that resulted in the strike bowler of the team defending 229 bowled just 2 overs for 35 runs. Steyn will definitely like to pick a fifer in order to remove this night from his and his fan’s memories.

Kagiso Rabada 6/10

The young Kagiso Rabada who has been impressive in his short international career so far, got the taste of how brutal the T20 format could be, especially on a dead pitch like the Wankhede. The faster he bowled, the longer he was hit. Rabada started his spell by giving away 21 runs in the first over of England innings and went on to give 50 runs in 4 over, picking up 2 wickets in the process.

Imran Tahir 8/10

Amidst the carnage of the English batsmen, Imran Tahir provided some relief for the Proteas fans. He bowled four overs for just 28 runs and picked up one wicket, that of Jos Buttler. A match where fours and sixes were hit on almost every ball, he managed to give away not a single four or six in his entire spell. His only points get deducted, because his brilliant spell couldn’t win the match for South Africa.