ENG VS SA 2ND ODI

Right then, England have displayed some great character in this second ODI and we have an exciting decider coming up on Sunday, 24th of July. That game will be played at Headingley, Leeds and it will start at 3.30 pm IST (10 am GMT). Our build-up though will begin earlier. So do join us for the same. Till then, goodbye and cheers!

Sam Curran is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his crucial knock of 35 from just 18 balls and an important wicket of David Miller with the ball in hand. He says that he tries to bat with the batter’s mindset and during an injury he had some thinking to do and wanted to be consistent with the bat. Tells that the message is always to pick the positive option and it was all about picking the right ball. Mentions that he wants to be adaptable and wants to give Buttler different options and everytime he plays for England, he tries to do his best.

Jos Buttler, the skipper of England says that it feels great to have a win and the way the bowlers picked up early wickets, that set the tone of the game. He is pretty happy with the overall performance of his players and says that they look to put pressure on the opposition whenever they can. He mentions that he and Liam had a chat in the middle and decided to pick the right bowlers to go after and change gears. He says that ultimately he was happy with the total on this pitch as this pitch was not that easy to bat for the new batters  He adds Topley and Willey bowled brilliantly and they will look to continue this to the series decider on Sunday.

Keshav Maharaj, the skipper of South Africa says that the target was chaseable and they did not bat well and if one loses four wickets in the Powerplay, it becomes difficult. Tells that they need to be better with the bat and it is back to the drawing board. Mentions that he enjoys captaincy and it gives a different perspective on the field and says that the media attention is the part and parcel of the job.

Presentation time...

Earlier in the day, after a long delay because of rain, England were inserted to bat by the South African skipper. They kept losing wickets but managed to score at a healthy rate. They finished with around 200 in the 29 overs alloted to them and that proved to be more than enough as they defended it quite easily.

For South Africa, after an impressive performance with the bat in the last game, it was a sorry outing for them in this game. Their top order had no answers to the movement earlier on and the middle and the lower order could not handle the spinners. In the end, it was quite a poor show with the bat by them.

Early wickets is what they needed and they got plenty! Reece Topley continued his impressive form and David Willey gave him really good support. They had England 5 down in no time. The visitors just never recovered. The only thing which could save them was rain which did arrive but it was not hard enough to take the players off the field. England however, managed to take the remaining wickets, Adil Rashid and Moeen did well to not only bowl the overs quickly but get the remaining wickets too.

A very comprehensive win for England and they have levelled the series! We did mention this was a competitive total but the way England performed with the ball, it seemed like they had a total which was well above par.

OUT! CAUGHT! That is it for this game and England win by 118 runs. This is slower through the air on off, Anrich Nortje dances down the track to heave it over long on but did not manage to get to the pitch of the ball and mistimes his shot. The ball goes high in the air and Moeen Ali at long on takes an easy catch. This has been an excellent performance by England as they level the series.

Quicker and flatter on middle, Tabraiz Shamsi flicks it through mid-wicket for one.

Tossed up on middle, Tabraiz Shamsi knocks it down the pitch.

Tossed up on off. Nortje drives it to long off for a single.

NOT OUT! This is flatter on middle. Shamsi looks to clip it away but gets the inside edge onto his pads. England appeal and the umpire raises his finger. However, Shamsi take a review and the UltraEdge shows that there is bat involved. Shamsi will continue as the decision will be overturned.

FOUR! Good shot! Tossed up on middle. Shamsi skips down the track and hits it straight down the ground for a boundary.

Darted around leg. Shamsi looks to clip it away but misses. The ball deflects off his pads towards the leg side.

OUT! CAUGHT AND BOWLED! Adil Rashid gets his third wicket and England are just one wicket away now from a big victory. This is on the shorter side and on off. The ball holds a bit off the surface and Lungi Ngidi looks to push it away. However, he ends up playing it early and the ball loops up straight back to the bowler. Rashid takes an easy catch off his own bowling.