The first T20I between England and South Africa was won by the hosts by 41 runs thanks to an all-round effort from Moeen Ali, who has been delivering regularly in this format for some time. The Proteas also put up a valiant fight while chasing a massive total, but the hosts were too strong on the day.
Both teams’ bowling was contrasting. While the South African bowlers lost runs and failed to dismiss the English middle order in the dying overs, the hosts were adept at putting pressure on the opposition from the start and also restricted a lot of runs in the middle overs, which proved to be a game changer in the end.
This is what the captains and the player of the match had to say.
Losing Captain – David Miller (South Africa)
The boys have been traveling around. It was a good wicket. A phenomenal knock from Stubbs. They were 90-odd in the first and demolished us in the last 10. We dropped 4-5 catches and that didn’t help. We will sort it out by tomorrow. Played in the local T20 and a phenomenal competition. Nice to see him do it on the big stage. Ngidi’s five for 39 was phenomenal bowling.
Winning Captain – Jos Buttler (England)
Great performance from the team. The Guys stood up. Jonny Bairstow batted well. He is having a great summer. Dawid Malan has been incredibly consistent as well. Mo Ali is one of the most stylish players. You are looking to give him more and more responsibilities. I think the pacers bowled with great pace. CJ bowled the 18th over and changed the game a little. I think it is about getting a feel for what the guys are feeling. If you execute here, you get away with it.
Player of the Match – Moeen Ali (England)
It was a nice time to go in. I as a left-hander went in to keep the right-left combo. It is not easy to score on this pitch. I back myself against the spinners. Jonny is so strong and powerful. We bat well together. It is a great wicket. I try to keep my shape and hit it.
