Twitter Reactions: Jofra Archer's six-wicket haul helps England avoid whitewash against South Africa

Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan notched up centuries in the first innings to take England to a respectable 346/7 from what was 14/3 at the end of six overs.

By Vaishnavi Thiagarajan Iyer

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England. (Photo by Matt King - CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)

A magnificent show with the bat by skipper Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan, followed by Jofra Archer’s brilliant comeback with the ball helped England win the third and final ODI against South Africa by 59 runs, thereby baring themselves from a whitewash. The Three Lions put up a show on display as the hosts were barred from fulfilling their direct qualification scenario for the World Cup.

South Africa put England to bat first upon winning the toss. The visitors faced a nightmare of a time when they started their innings as Lungi Ngidi picked up three quick wickets in the first six overs, and England were reduced to 14/3. Jason Roy (1 off 7), Ben Duckett (0 off 5), and Harry Brook (6 off 9) were dismissed cheaply as the visitors got off to a fiery start.

Just when South Africa thought they had the game in their hands, opener Dawid Malan and skipper Jos Buttler showcased great grit and determination as they built the innings thereon. The duo stitched up a 232-run stand for the fourth wicket, the fourth-highest partnership for England in ODIs, and went on to score their respective centuries.

They took the scorecard from 14/3 to 246/4 as the English team took a sigh of relief. Sisanda Magala finally got his side the much-needed breakthrough when he dismissed Malan (118 off 114) in the 41st over, but the visiting batters were unstoppable. Moeen Ali joined Buttler in the middle and the duo added 67 runs for the fifth wicket partnership, with Moeen (41 off 23) taking charge of the fireworks. Buttler scored 131 runs off 127 deliveries as England finished at 346/7.

Jofra Archer leads the way with the ball

After a terrific performance with the bat, the English bowlers had an uphill task to defend the score against the in-form South Africa, who had won the first two games and the series. Openers Temba Bavuma and Reeza Hendricks started off well with a 49-run stand before the former was dismissed late in the ninth over. Rassie van der Dussen failed to leave an impact and was dismissed cheaply.

A 50-run partnership between Hendricks and Aiden Markram, followed by a 46-run stand between Markram and Heinrich Klaasen helped South Africa keep their hopes of a 3-0 victory alive. But it was a Jofra Archer show thereon. Having picked up the wicket of Van der Dussen, Archer went on to add five more scalps to his name and recorded figures of 6/40 in 9.1 overs, thereby claiming his first five-wicket haul.

The pacer, who was criticised for giving away 81 runs in 10 overs of his spell upon his comeback in the first game of the series shut all his critics in style by leading England to a dominant victory. Adil Rashid too was critical as he picked up three wickets in his 10-over quota. As a result, England dished out South Africa for 287 runs in 43.1 overs and finally claimed a victory after having lost their previous five ODI encounters.

 Here's how Twitter reacted:

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South Africa vs England 2023South AfricaEnglandJofra ArcherLungi NgidiDawid MalanAdil RashidJos Buttler