Taunton: Andile Phehlukwayo (1/34) delivered a superb final over as South Africa beat England by three runs in a thrilling Twenty20 international here Friday.
South Africa made 174 for eight with JJ Smuts and skipper AB de Villiers playing wonderful knocks. England will feel they should have won after being well-placed but they struggled in the closing overs after losing top scorer Jason Roy (67, 45b, 9×4, 1×6), who had been struggling for form, led the run chase with a fine half century before being given out for obstructing the field.
Roy had shared a 110-run second wicket partnership with in-form Jonny Bairstow (47) but with 29 needed to win off the final three overs, England fell short. The hosts required 12 from the final over but Phehlukwayo, bowling yorker length outside the off stump, restricted England to singles off the first three balls and debutant Livingstone was run out after confusion over a second run.
Liam Dawson smashed the penultimate ball for a one-bounce four but the final delivery from the South African seamer beat Dawson and the tourists levelled the three-match series at 1-1.
It had been a strong bowling performance from South Africa with seamer Chris Morris (2/18) bowling well. It was an entertaining game for the Somerset crowd, enjoying the first international contest at their ground since the 1999 World Cup. The series deciding match will be played at Cardiff, Sunday.
Brief scores: South Africa 174 (AB de Villiers 46, J Smuts 45; Tom Curran 3/33) bt England 171 (Jason Roy 67, Jonny Bairstow 47; Chris Morris 2/18) by 3 runs.
Agencies
