Twitter Reaction: South Africa demolish England in consolation win
South Africa cruised to a 7-wicket win in the final ODI of the 3-match series which was already won by England in the last game. Kagiso Rabada was the star of the show finishing with 4/39.
It was eventually a game that lasted 60 overs at the Lords Cricket Stadium. AB De Villiers put England in to bat first in favourable fast bowling conditions which were exploited by his bowlers led by opening bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Wayne Parnell. In a bizarre display of batting, England were reduced to 20/6 in 5 overs, which is the worst result after that many overs in terms of wickets lost in the history of ODI cricket.
England had already won the 3-match ODI series as they took an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the last ODI at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. Rabada was at the forefront of the demolition as he removed Jason Roy in the first over. Parnell wasn’t one to be left behind as he got the crucial wicket of Joe Root. It was a juicy Lord’s wicket conducive to seam and swing bowling. England skipper Eoin Morgan was the next one to depart. He edged one back to de Kock off Parnell to leave England in the shambles at 15/3.
What construed next was absolute mayhem as England, despite losing 3 wickets upfront, kept on attacking and lost three wickets in the 5th over bowled by Kagiso Rabada. Opener Alex Hales, Jos Butler and No. 7 Adil Rashid all were back in the hut playing attacking shots as England were in deep mire at 20/6 in five overs. It was due to Jonny Bairstow’s (51) resistance coupled with handy knocks by David Wiley (26) and debutant Ronald-Jones’ unbeaten 37 which took England’s score to 153 before they were bowled out in the 32nd over. Rabada was the pick of the bowlers returning with 4/39. Parnell and Keshav Maharaj too did a commendable job by finishing with 3/43 and 3/25 respectively.
The chase of 154 was pretty straightforward for a batting unit which boasts of some fine players. Amla and de Kock were involved in a 95-run opening partnership which ended hopes of any revival of the home side. Both openers were back in the pavilion in quick session and Faf du Plessis followed suit too. At 101/3 England fancied their chances a wee bit which were razed by the experienced duo of AB De Villiers and JP Duminy, who got some batting form ahead of the big tournament remaining unbeaten on 27 and 28 respectively.
South Africa, after losing the first 2 ODIs, got some momentum ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy. They are placed in a tough group but have the firepower to at least reach the semi-finals.
Here are the Twitter reactions to South Africa’s 7 wicket win at the Lord’s:
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