A Kagiso Rabada hat-trick and Rassie van der Dussen’s unbeaten 94 were enough to beat England by ten runs in the final Group 1 game of the tournament. But it wasn’t enough to save South Africa or knock out England.
The Group 1 permutations meant Eoin Morgan’s side started their reply knowing that they needed to pass 87 to guarantee qualification to the semi-finals, and they sealed that spot inside 11 overs of the chase.
Soon after they had done enough to ensure Australia were the second team through in the group as well.
But England side suffered a huge setback when opening batter Roy pulled up with what appeared to be a serious calf injury in the fifth over, putting his participation in the remainder of the tournament in doubt.
Australia’s win over West Indies earlier in the day meant South Africa knew they needed a win, and a big one, to finish in the top two.
And the 189-run total, inspired by Van der Dussen and Aiden Markram’s rapid 52 off 25, meant the Proteas had to restrict England to less than 131 in the second innings.
But, although South Africa did deny England the win thanks to a terrific spell from Tabraiz Shamsi and a final-over hat-trick from Rabada, they were unable to win by enough to seal the second spot in the group, as England finished on 179/8.
Match-up heavy Powerplay
Earlier, South Africa’s top order had put England to the sword with a stunning batting display to post 189/2.
England’s Moeen Ali has a terrific career record against South African dangerman Quinton de Kock, so it was little surprise to see the all-rounder take the new ball.
But what was slightly more surprising was Ali bowling out his full four overs straight out of the gate.
It is only the second time in T20 cricket that Ali has done so, the first being against West Indies earlier in this tournament.
The spinner finished with tidy figures of 1/27 as his steady tournament with the ball continued.
And it was opener Reeza Hendricks who was the wicket to fall, with the flight luring him into a big sweep shot that failed to connect, the ball cleaning up middle stump.
De Kock and van der Dussen rallied for South Africa, building an impressive base for the team to launch off, with the pair still out in the middle after 10 overs.
The Van der Dussen show
The 32-year-old van der Dussen took over after de Kock was caught by Jason Roy off Adil Rashid for 34 from 27 in the 12th over.
He was joined in the middle by Markram, who scored at a strike rate of over 200 in his outstanding half-century – the second fastest of the tournament after KL Rahul.
The pair went particularly hard after England’s seamers in the middle overs, targeting the returning Mark Wood, who was featuring in the tournament for the first time after replacing the injured Tymal Mills.
Wood finished with figures of 0/47 off his four overs, with Chris Woakes faring little better with 0/43, as England’s seamers struggled in Sharjah.
England’s reply
The in-form England openers got off to a flier in their chase, racing to 37 without loss after four overs, with Roy and Jos Buttler looking in fine form.
But Roy pulled up as he attempted a single off the first ball of the fifth over, collapsing to the turf and being forced to leave the field.
England’s attempts at going for the win suffered a blow when Jos Buttler was dismissed for only the second time in the tournament, caught by Bavuma off Anrich Nortje for 26 off 15.
And Jonny Bairstow spell at the crease came to a swift end when he was trapped in-front by Tabraiz Shamsi off his third delivery faced.
Middle-order rebuild
England had reshuffled the batting line-up in response to Roy’s injury, with Ali coming in at No.3 in place of Dawid Malan.
But Malan was soon out in the middle alongside Moeen, and the left-handed pair built the recovery after the quick wickets of Buttler and Bairstow.
Ali unleashed against the spinners, hitting Shamsi out of the stadium with one monster maximum to take him to 37 off 26 balls.
But Shamsi had his revenge off the next delivery as Ali miscued another attempted six to David Miller in the deep.
Thrilling finish
Liam Livingstone’s hat-trick of sixes off Kagiso Rabada knocked South Africa out of the tournament and gave England great impetuous in their chase of 190.
Another attempted maximum did for Livingstone just as he looked to be helping England to the win, with Miller taking a catch on the boundary to send the big-hitting Englishman back to the hutch for 28 off 17.
And England’s attempt to go for the win faltered late on as three catches in the deep in succession gave Rabada a hat-trick in the final over as South Africa defended 14 off the last six balls to end their tournament on a high.
England finish top of Group 1 with Australia in second, with Pakistan and the second qualifier from Group 2 awaiting the pair in the semi-finals next week.
South Africa’s win means that three teams finished level on eight points in Group 1 with four wins from five, with the Proteas the unfortunate outfit to miss out on NRR.
