AI Simulation, ENG vs SA | England's big guns make Lord's feel like home to level series with victory

Pitch and Weather

A fresh Lord's pitch awaited the two teams on Thursday with substantial grass covering and overcast skies forming the perfect storm for seamers to ride early in the game. However, as the game progressed, the sun peeked through making batting a lot easier, a trend that continued under the lights.

Toss

South Africa won the toss and chose to bat first.

Lineups

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

South Africa XI: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Wiaan Mulder, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi

Match Report

Opting to bat first, South Africa faced a testing time early on as Jofra Archer bowled back-to-back maidens to begin proceedings. Along with Sonny Baker, the new-ball duo produced three golden chances for England but the hosts let two slip in the cordon while Archer himself put down a sitter in the deep, allowing Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton to ease into the game. The duo made most of their lives as they accelarated brilliantly towards the end of the powerplay, racking up 27 runs across the final two overs to make the score read 49/0 at the end of 10. Markram brought up his half-century off 59 deliveries while Rickelton bettered the mark by a run as their stand crossed 100 shortly after the 20 over mark, much to England's despair. Poetically, it was Archer who ultimately delivere the opening blow by castling the Proteas T20I skipper, and then had Rickelton nick one to the keeper with a sharp bumper that threatened to take the opener's head off. A brief lull followed as Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs tried to found their footing, the latter the first to get his bearings straight as he went after Adil Rashid once set. His skipper, however, never looked comfortable but even a sedate 33 was crucial in anchoring the 98-run stand. Rashid finally had the last laugh against Stubbs when he ended his imposing knock of 47 in 44 balls with a wily googly, and bowled out in the 40th over with the scalp of Bavuma with the score 206/4. Dewald Brevis threatened to take the Proteas past 300 when he launched two sixes ina  29-run cameo but the hosts kept striking back with wickets to restrict the visitors to 66 runs in the final 10 and set themselves a target of 273.

In response, England suffered an early setback when Lungi Ngidi pegged back Jamie Smith's middle-stump in the third over with an unplayable inducker. Nevertheless, the experienced pair of Ben Duckett and Joe Root negated the rest of the powerplay worth 53 runs, and kept ticking along effortlessly even once the field spread. Before long, the duo had brought up their half-centuries in 57 balls each, before a burst of accelaration brought them 40 runs between overs 25 and 29. However, Root eventually played a shot too many and bowed out for a clinical 67 but one often brings two and Duckett followed suit just eight deliveries later to bring the Proteas right back in the contest. The onus fell on Harry Brook and Jos Buttler as the experienced heads to stabilizie the innings, and the oaoir unsurprisingly took the counter attacking root to tilt momentum. 77 runs followed in 10 overs and even though lose shoots brought their demise for 44 and 38 respectively, England were left needing just 44 off 54 deliveries. Will Jacks and Jacob Bethell ensured there were no further hiccups as they took England within touching distance before Brydon Carse sealed the deal with a six in the 48th over.     

Player of the Match

Ben Duckett was named man of the match for his knock of 78 in 88 deliveries, laced with nine boundaries and a solitary maximum.

Scorecard