England withstood a whirlwind inning from South African captain Quinton De Kock to level the three-match series following a nervy two-run win in a last-ball thriller at Kingsmead on Friday.
Moeen Ali’s cameo of 39 from only 11 deliveries helped England to a formidable 204-7 but it was put aside by De Kock, whose 17-ball half-century under the floodlights was the fastest by a Proteas batsman in T20Is.
The shell-shocked tourists got a sigh of relief when he was caught in the deep for 65 from 22 balls, which included two fours and eight sixes, but Rassie Van Der Dussen 🍌(43 not out off 26) and Dwaine Pretorius (25 off 13) almost carried the hosts to victory.
ꦜTom Curran was left to defend 15 in the last over and though Pretorius smashed a six and a four off consecutive deliveries, he was then trapped infront of the wickets and with three needed from the final ball, Bjorn Fortuin ramped a slower delivery to Adil Rashid at short fine-leg.
England, therefore, prevailed to level the series having lost at Buffalo Park in a match that also went to the wire – and set up a decid💖er at SuperSport Park on Sunday.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
ENGLAND HAVE DONE IT!
They've won it from the final ball of the match. What a game!
— ICC (@ICC)
This is how much it means 🦁 👏
— England Cricket (@englandcricket)
Series decider at Centurion on Sunday!! 👊
— England's Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy)
🔥 Quick-ton de Kock smashed a 17-ball fifty – the fastest by a South African in T20Is 🇿🇦👌
👀: 65 (22) 😲
Sixes: 8 😱
Fours: 2 👏🏻
🆚: 🏴— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan)
How good was that knock from Moeen♚ Ali? Sensational 👏👏
— Josh Frankland (@_JoshFrankland)
ENG LEVEL THE SERIES 😱
This Blockbuster of match comes to an end 📺
Entertainment value ☑️
Passion ☑️
Pride ☑️
🏴 level the series in Durban to 1-1
All to play for on Sunday at a SOLD OUT
See you there 😜
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA)
3️⃣9️⃣ runs
1️⃣1️⃣ balls
3️⃣5️⃣5️⃣ strike rate
3 x 4s
4 x 6sThat w♎as absurd. That was stunning. That was game-changing.
That, everyone, was Moeen Ali 🌞at his brilliant best!💥🔥
Honestly, imagine thinking he shouldn’t be𒊎 in the team. Hahahaha. Could never be me.
— The Googly Cricket (@officialgoogly)
Test cricket. 50 over cricket. T20 cricket. It’s just the 🎐best sport in the world. 🏏
— Eleanor Oldroyd (@EllyOldroyd)
