England beat South Africa in T20 internationals
Cardiff: England debutant Dawid Malan’s (78, 44b, 12×4, 2×6) hard-hitting knock helped the hosts to a 19-run victory over South Africa in their Twenty 20 international at the Sophia Gardens here Sunday. The victory helped England clinch the three-game series 2-1.
Riding on the 29-year-old left-hander Malan’s knock as England, who rested captain Eoin Morgan, made 181 for eight. South Africa were never really in the run chase, especially after captain AB de Villiers (35, 27b, 2×4, 2×6) was caught in the deep by Alex Hales off the spin of Mason Crane. They eventually fell short on 162 for seven.
Chris Jordan (3/31) shone with the ball for England who will be delighted to have won the series while also blooding new talent.
One of those propsects, Crane, was delighted to have kept his nerve whilst facing a pounding from De Villiers. The South African carted him for two sixes and a four before holing out and giving the 20-year-old his first wicket in international cricket.
But it was Malan who did the most to boost his chances of forcing his way into the England team on a longer-term basis, showing enormous confidence as he smashed his second ball over mid-wicket for six.
Malan has had to wait for his ability to be rewarded by the England selectors but he showed that, even when the likes of Joe Root and Ben Stokes return to the side, he could be a very useful option.
“I didn’t think (the chance) would ever come but nice to show what I can do. It’s tough but you try and keep things in perspective and wait for an opportunity,” he said after the game.
Jos Buttler, who stepped in as captain in the absence of Morgan, was full of praise for Malan. “Dawid batted on a different wicket to the rest of us, made it look really good on debut. It was a fantastic show of character from Dawid,” he said.
Brief scores: England 181 for 8 (Dawid Malan 78, Alex Hales 36, Dane Peterson 4/32) beat South Africa 162 for 7 (AB de Villiers 35, Chris Jordan 3/31, Tom Curran 2/22) by 19 runs.
