AB de Villiers batted like a man on a mission and scored a masterful unbeaten century. The captain AB de Villiers decided to open the innings and boy he did that to aplomb as the right-hander made sure his opening partner Hashim Amla was a mere spectator at the other end as South Africa thrashed hosts England by 10 wickets with 7.4 overs left at Grace Road.
After the bowlers had done a decent job in restricting England to 152, AB decided to open the batting and took matter into his own hands scoring a breath-taking 116* off 51 balls laced with 15 fours and 7 sixes in his name as he made a mockery of the 153-run chase achieving it in 12.2 overs with Hashim Amla a distant spectator with 29* off 25 balls with 4 fours to his name. It was a match to forget for England as they suffer another defeat in the tournament.
Imran Tahir’s miserly spell restricts England to 152
Phil Mustard and Ravi Bopara came out to open the batting for England. After Hardus Viljoen bowled a tight over, Bopara decided to take on Wayne Parnell and deposit him for the maximum. But Parnell had his revenge thereafter, as Bopara fell for 7 off 6 balls with a maximum to his name. Parnell bowled a fuller length outside off, Bopara looked to clear the ground by going straight but got a thick outside edge that took the ball to deep backward point. Moeen Ali came into bat next and was gifted four leg byes by Parnell before Moeen got off the mark with a boundary.
Moeen looked to continue in his veins as he hit Viljoen for another boundary. Duanne Olivier was introduced into the attack as Mustard got into the act and got a boundary in his name. The wily Imran Tahir came into the attack inside the powerplay and he broke the budding partnership getting rid of Moeen Ali for 10 off 11 balls which included 2 boundaries. Tahir bowled it full and outside off-stump, Moeen looked to go down the ground but got a thick outside edge that carried to JP Duminy at backward point who made no mistake. Samit Patel came to the crease next.
Chris Morris was introduced to bowl the final over of the powerplay as Mustard hit him for a boundary through long-off. At the end of the powerplay, England Champions were 45/2 in 6 overs. Samit Patel showed his intentions clear by hitting Chris Morris for a boundary and Mustard too hit a boundary and then a maximum to end the 8th over as England gained momentum in the innings. Patel was in good form and hit Olivier for a boundary as well through long leg. Samit Patel also hit Wayne Parnell for a boundary but Parnell had the last laugh in the end.
Patel fell for 24 off 16 balls with 3 fours to his name. Parnell bowled a length ball on the off-stump shaping back in slightly to the batter. Samit got beaten on the outside edge as the ball kissed the top of the middle stump. Captain Eoin Morgan came out to bat at 5 and at the end of 10 overs, England were decently placed at 83/3. JP Duminy came into bowl an over and gave away only 4 runs to keep things tight.
Eoin Morgan hit a massive six off Olivier to show his class. But after Morgan took the single and went off strike, Olivier got rid of Mustard. Olivier bowled it full around off, Mustard backed away and looked to go up and over deep midwicket but did not get the desired timing and was taken by Sarel Erwee at long-on. Mustard fell for 39 off 33 balls laced with 3 boundaries and a six to his name. Ian Bell came in next to join Morgan in the middle.
Some tight overs followed before Bell hit a boundary off Olivier to bring up the 100 for England Champions in 13.2 overs. Morgan got a boundary away by hitting a juicy full toss over short fine leg. Hashim Amla replaced Duanne Olivier as the Impact Player in this game. Morgan then hit Tahir for a boundary to the right of diving deep midwicket. But Tahir had the last laugh as he got rid of Morgan for 20 off 14 balls with 2 fours and a six to his name.
Tahir bowled it too full and outside off, Morgan looked to drive it away and got an under edge that rolled back into the stumps. England had now lost half their side. Tim Ambrose came in next at 7 and at the end of 15 overs, England Champions were 115/5 with Tahir as well finishing his spell of 2/17 in 4 overs. Chris Morris came back into the attack and got the prized scalp of Ian Bell. Bell made 7 off 9 balls with a boundary to his name.
Morris bowled it full and shaping away a tad outside off, Bell went hard at the drive and got a thick outside edge where the keeper Morne van Wyk dived to his right and took the good sharp catch. Liam Plunkett walked out to bat at 8. Ambrose was given a reprieve as Parnell dropped him at mid-off. It was a dolly that should have been taken. Hardus Viljoen bowled a tight 17th over giving hardly anything away.
Liam Plunkett broke the shackles a little bit by hitting a boundary off Wayne Parnell and it was a welcome one for England. Viljoen bowled another tight over giving away 4 runs as England were 142/6 in 19 overs with an over remaining in the innings.
Ambrose got a boundary away through point to start the final over well. Thereafter, runs came in singles and twos as 10 runs came off the final over. England Champions finished with 152/6 in 20 overs with Tim Ambrose on 19* off 16 balls and Liam Plunkett on 13* off 15 balls. 13 extras conceded by South African bowlers.
Imran Tahir was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa Champions with figures of 2/17 in 4 overs. Wayne Parnell chipped in with 2/36 in 4 overs. Duanne Olivier finished with 1/37 in 4 overs while Chris Morris finished with 1/32 in 3 overs. Hardus Viljoen bowled a miserly spell of 0/19 in 4 overs while JP Duminy’s only over went for 4 runs. That meant South Africa Champions needed 153 to keep their unbeaten run going.
AB de Villiers demolishes England
Chasing 153 to keep their unbeaten run alive, Impact Player Hashim Amla came out to bat with his captain AB de Villiers. The captain AB de Villiers was in no mood to get himself in as he hit Ajmal Shahzad for two boundaries and a maximum to end the opening over of the chase which yielded 16 runs. There was no stopping AB de Villiers this evening as he hit Stuart Meaker for a maximum as he took toll of the poor ball bowled down the leg side.
AB de Villiers for a while survived a scare as his shot over mid-off fell one bounce short of the fielder. But it did not matter as he hit Shahzad for another boundary towards deep midwicket. Hashim Amla decided to join the party and break the shackles as he hit Liam Plunkett for consecutive boundaries to get himself going. AB rounded off the over by hitting a big maximum over wide long-on as 15 came off the Plunkett over.
AB de Villiers then hit Meaker for consecutive boundaries as South Africa raced past 50 in the 5th over. AB was riding his luck as a big moment in the game arrived. Stuart Meaker had bowled short and outside off with AB throwing his bat at it and sliced it towards deep cover point. Eoin Morgan ran to his back and got his hands on it but failed to take it as AB got a life. Amla then hit a boundary off Meaker as well as 14 runs came off this over as well.
AB de Villiers then took on Liam Plunkett and hit him for a boundary through deep fine leg. Plunkett bowled a no ball and the Free Hit was accepted by AB de Villiers as he hit a boundary through extra cover through a full toss outside off-stump. He hit another boundary off the next ball through midwicket to bring up his fifty in just 21 balls. AB wasn’t done yet as he hit Plunkett for a huge six straight down the ground from the middle of the bat. At the end of the powerplay, South Africa had raced away to 80/0 in 6 overs and were cruising in the chase.
It didn’t matter who came onto bowl as AB de Villiers was in the mood tonight. He hit Samit Patel for a boundary down the ground before pummelling another over covers for another boundary. Ravi Bopara was introduced and was hit with the same fate, a boundary drilled through long-on. Dimitri Mascarenhas was introduced into the attack and was greeted with a maximum as the 100 came up for South Africa Champions in 8.1 overs and of the partnership as well. AB de Villiers hit Mascarenhas for two more sixes targeting all parts of the ground as 19 runs came off this over from Dimitri.
AB hit Bopara for a boundary straight down the ground as he moved to 98*. He went to 99 and to the other end when Amla showed he is here to play by hitting a boundary through extra covers. At the end of 10 overs at the halfway stage of the chase, South Africa Champions were 128/0 in 10 overs with AB scoring 99 off them. The moment soon arrived for Abraham Benjamin de Villiers as he cut away the short and wide ball to sweeper cover for a single reaching the landmark off just 41 balls. He soaked in the applause after that.
Meaker then bowled a beamer above waist-height which AB de Villiers managed to get away for a boundary past short fine leg as the free hit after that yielded a couple of runs. AB de Villiers was in a hurry as he hit another boundary off Meaker straight down the ground as 5 more were needed for the win.
The winning moment came from who else but AB de Villiers as he hit Shahzad for a boundary as he stayed deep in his crease and pummelled the full ball angling in to the right of long-on who had no chance to cut it off as the ball went away to the fence. The game was done and dusted in 12.2 overs. AB remained unbeaten on 116 off 51 balls with 15 fours and 7 sixes to his name while Amla remained unbeaten on 29* off 25 balls with 4 fours to his name. 8 extras given by England as well.
Nothing much to speak about for the England bowlers as mostly all of them went for runs and remained wicketless as well. There was no standout performance as such as England cut a sorry figure in the field. It was to nobody’s surprise for his majestic knock AB de Villiers was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead
With this win, South Africa Champions have made it 3 wins out of 3 games and have 6 points to their kitty while England Champions are winless and have lost 3 out of 4 games with one being a no result. England ahead of India on Net Run Rate. The next game also features South Africa Champions at Grace Road, Leicester as they will face Pakistan Champions on 25th of July at 9pm IST.
Will South Africa Champions continue their unbeaten run in this tournament or will Pakistan Champions break their unbeaten run in this tournament? Pakistan are also unbeaten we mustn’t forget that. A mouth-watering battle awaits us all. We will know all the answers to the above questions later tonight at Grace Road.