England VS South Africa 2nd ODI England levels the series
Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran both scored 38 and 35 runs as England set South Africa a 202-run goal
Sam Curran: Player of the MatchBoth teams failed to bat their complete overs in a match that got reduced to 29 after heavy rain. What seemed a low total for defending became a mountain for the visitors as England won the game by 118 runs to level the series. In the end, the English spinners finished the game with a dominating victory.
On winning the toss, South Africa opted to bowl first. Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow and Phil Salt looked to give a bad start, dealing in boundaries, but Anrich Nortje and Dwaine Pretorius were clinical in dismissing the top four batters for 62 runs in 8.4 overs. None of Joe Root, Moeen Ali, and skipper Jos Buttler seemed to get going against Proteas' bowlers. Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran stitched the highest partnership of 43 runs from 21 balls, accelerating the innings for England.
Livingstone went berserk and smashed three consecutive sixes off Anrich Nortje but lost his wicket on the next ball, attempting to hit the boundary on a short slower ball. While Liam Livingstone returned with 38 off 26, Sam Curran fetched 35 off 18 balls. A small cameo of 21 and 12 runs from David Willey and Adil Rashid helped the team cross the mark of 200 runs to give a target of 202 but got bundled out with five balls to spare. This was the fifth time England got bowled out in an ODI.
South Africa started their chase by losing four wickets in 10 balls at a near negligible total of 6 runs. Reece Topley gave yet another solid start for England along with David Willey. England's spinners - Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali- a total which seemed low, made it a mountain for South Africa when they continued taking wickets in regular intervals of 7-8 balls. South Africa got bowled out at a total of 83 runs. Heinrich Klaasen gave the maximum contribution of 33 runs.
Jos Buttler: "Delighted with the win, the guys played in the fashion we want to play with as a team; we do it better. He added, "We haven't fired with the bat in white-ball cricket, but we know how dangerous we can be when we do."