AI Simulation, ENG vs SA | Joe Root and Jofra Archer shine at Headingley as England take 1-0 lead in series

‌Pitch and Weather

The surface at Headingley offered a bit of movement for the pacers early on due to the overcast conditions, but flattened out in the second innings, making it slightly easier for the batters to time their shots perfectly

It was a cool and breezy day in Leeds with the temperature being around 18-20 degrees Celsius. Though there was a slight drizzle at the start of the game, the weather remained clear throughout the rest of the match

Toss

South Africa won the toss and elected to bowl first

Lineups 

England: Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook (c), Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler (wk), Will Jacks, Brydon Carse, Adil Rashid, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer.

South Africa: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Matthew Breetzke, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Nandre Burger.

Match Report

South Africa won the toss and chose to field in hopes of taking advantage of the early seaming conditions. However, English openers Jamie Smith and Ben Duckett started putting the pressure on the bowlers straight away with some sensible cricket. The duo put on 52 runs for the first wicket before Kagiso Rabada dismissed Smith in the last over of the powerplay. However, England were still in a solid position at the end of 10 overs with the score reading 56/1. Though Rabada had managed to get a vital breakthrough, it did not affect England's run flow as Root anchored the innings at the other end while Duckett played his shots. Unfortunately, the partnership did not last long as the opener threw his wicket away in the 19th over after mistiming a slower one by Wiaan Mulder to mid-off on a score of 41 off 47 deliveries. After  Duckett was dismissed, the South African bowlers got some respite as the scoring rate started to slow down. Unfortunately, the worst was yet to come as England skipper Harry Brook started to play his natural attacking style of cricket and gave the necessary support to Root at the other end. As the runs started to come thick and fast, England were in a commanding position with the score reading 135/2 at the halfway stage. The dominance continued in the second half, as well, with Root starting to play some attacking strokes along with Brook. The two had put on 115  runs for the third wicket until Brook was finally dismissed after a quickfire 66 off 58 deliveries in the 34th over by Keshav Maharaj. South Africa seemed to be getting a bit of a grip on the game as Jacob Bethell’s furniture was dismissed in the 38th over by Aiden Markram. Despite the two quick wickets, Root managed to keep the innings together towards the end of the second power play, with the score at 220/3 after 40 overs. While it seemed like a 300+ total was on the cards, Rabada came back into the attack in the 43rd over and knocked over Root’s middle stump to bring an end to a beautiful knock of 78 off 92 deliveries. This wicket triggered a bit of a collapse as Will Jacks was dismissed by Lungi Ngidi in the 45th over, and Brydon Carse found his way back in the dressing room in the next over after giving a simple catch back to Rabada. Though Jos Buttler still managed to score some crucial runs at the backend to take the England team to a competitive score of 293/8, the total seemed 10-15 as the pitch seemed to have flattened out towards the end.

The South African openers Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton took advantage of the improved conditions and started to score runs at a brisk rate. At the end of the 10 overs, the Proteas were in a solid position at 62/0. With both openers moving along strongly, the Rainbow Nation was very much in the chase until Adil Rashid managed to get the first breakthrough in the 15th over as Rickelton was deceived by a loopy top-spinner and failed to convert his start of 39 off 43 deliveries. Though this wicket might have given the hosts a sigh of relief, South African skipper Temba Bavuma came to Markram’s support and ensured that the team stayed within the required rate. However, the England team had another surprise up its sleeve as Bavuma was dismissed by the part-time spin of Root in the 20th over. The game suddenly changed as Markram was the only set batter at the crease, as Matthew Breetzke failed to read Rashid’s googly, which crashed into his middle and leg stump. Though Markram was still looking good at the crease, the scoring rate took a bit of a hit with the score reading 120/3 after 25 overs. Trouble started brewing in the second half of the chase for the African nation, as Jofra Archer came into the attack and got the prized wicket of Markram in the 27th over. As the elegant openers' knock of 52 off 64 came to an end, the Proteas were suddenly in a tricky situation with two new batters at the crease. It seemed like the game was going England’s way until Tristan Stubbs and Dewald Brevis decided to take the attack to the English bowlers. Both young batters kept the chase alive until Brevis was finally dismissed in the 34th over by Jamie Overton after top edging a simple catch to Buttler. However, Stubbs kept the fight alive as the game was in the balance at 210/5 with the visitors needing 83 off the last 60 balls. With Stubbs looking dangerous and Wiaan Mulder starting to find his feet, South Africa were very much in the game. Unfortunately, as soon as the two began to look threatening, Jofra Archer dismissed the all-rounder with a beautifully executed yorker. Despite Stubbs' efforts, the wickets continued to tumble as Maharaj and Rabada could not add much to the score. In the end, the match was finally done and dusted in the 49th over as Archer cleaned up Stubbs after his valiant knock of 64 off 48 deliveries. The Proteas were bowled out for 284 runs in the end as England go 1-0 up in the series with this thrilling nine-run win.

Player of the match

The player of the match was Joe Root, who scored a brilliant half-century and also got the crucial breakthrough of the South African skipper.

Scorecard