World Twenty20, Highlights: South Africa beat England by 3 runs to seal semifinal spot

South Africa beat England by 3 runs in a Group 1 game at Chittagong to seal the semifinal spot. Catch highlights here: (Match scorecard | Text Commentary | Points table | Innings report)

 

23:16 (IST): So, a great win for South Africa in the end as they have also now reached the semifinals. Man of the Match and South African skipper AB de Villiers said that it was just unfortunate that England had to lose today because both teams played well. He said he was happy to win a game as captain because he had also lost a few as skipper in the T20 format. England captain Stuart Broad said that it was a fantastic game of cricket but despite two of their batsmen getting good scores, one of them didn't get a big knock that is needed when teams are chasing totals nearing 200.

23:05 (IST): South Africa beat England by 3 runs in a last-over finish to enter semifinals. AB de Villiers 69, Hashim Amla 56; Parnell 3/31.

23:01 (IST): WICKET! Ravi Bopara c Miller b Steyn 31. ENG 175/7 (19.1 overs). Need 22 runs off 5 balls to win vs SA.

 

23:00 (IST): England need 22 off Steyn's last over to win vs South Africa. ENG 175/6 (19 overs). Bopara on strike.

22:54 (IST): WICKET! Chris Jordan c De Villiers b Hendricks 17. England 167/6 need 30 runs off 9 balls to win vs SA.

 

22:47 (IST): Ravi Bopara gets it in the gap for a 4 off Dale Steyn as England need 48 off 20 to win.

 

22:46 (IST): Dale Steyn bowling his third over as England need 53 runs off 22 balls to win vs South Africa.

 

22:33 (IST): WICKET! Jos Buttler c Albie Morkel b Imran Tahir 34. ENG 131/5 (14.4 overs).

 

22:21 (IST): WICKET! Imran Tahir strikes! Eoin Morgan c De Kock b Tahir 14. ENG 105/4 (12.1 overs).

 

22:20 (IST): Dale Steyn keeps it tight too, following on from where Tahir left. ENG 102/3 (11.4 ovs) chasing 197.

 

22:16 (IST): Imran Tahir keeps it tight in the 1st half of his 2nd over. ENG 97/3 (10.3 overs).

 

21:54 (IST): WICKET! Parnell on a hat-trick! Moeen Ali c de Kock b Parnell 10. ENG 73/3 (7.3 overs) chasing 197 vs SA.

21:52 (IST): WICKET! Alex Hales c Miller b Parnell 38. ENG 73/2 (7.2 overs).

21:51 (IST): Imran Tahir bowling his 1st over after the powerplay. ENG 64/1 (6.1 overs) chasing 197 vs SA.

21:50 (IST): Moeen Ali is a mere stranger at the other end! Hales (31* off 19 balls) on fire! ENG 56/1 (5.5 overs).

 

21:41 (IST): WICKET! Michael Lumb c Miller b Parnell 14. ENG 46/1 (4.4 overs) chasing 197 vs South Africa.

 

21:40 (IST): Alex Hales ends Dale Steyn's first over with a six! ENG 40/0 (4 overs). Going at exactly ten an over as of now, which is what is required.

 

21:35 (IST): Dale Steyn starts off with a wide! ENG 31/0 (3.1 overs) chasing 197 vs SA.

21:30 (IST): Two 4s after Alex Hales survives, being caught off a no ball. A bit harsh on Albie Morkel there! He had something beneath the line. ENG 22/0 (2 overs).

 

21:06 (IST): South Africa post 196/5 (20 overs) vs England. AB de Villiers 69, Hashim Amla 56; Stuart Broad 1/33.

 

20:57 (IST): WICKET! David Miller c Moeen Ali b Chris Jordan 19. South Africa 174/4 (18.4 overs).

 

20:51 (IST): AB de Villiers gets to his 5th T20I 50 (off 23 balls) with a six! South Africa 167/3 (18 overs).

20:43 (IST): Stuart Broad gets it wrong this time in his last over and leaks away 13 runs. AB de Villiers leapt on every opportunity he got and got two boundaries. Broad finishes up with figures of 4/33. South Africa 141/3 (17 overs).

 

20:30 (IST): WICKET! JP Duminy run out Ravi Bopara 5. South Africa 120/3 (14.3 overs).

 

20:26 (IST): Broad to De Villiers! 4! South Africa 113/2 (13.2 overs). De Villiers (18*), JP Duminy (1*).

 

20:18 (IST): WICKET! Quinton de Kock st Buttler b Tredwell 29. South Africa 98/2 (12.2 overs) vs England.

 

20:12 (IST): WICKET! Hashim Amla c Alex Hales b Stuart Broad 57. South Africa 91/1 (10.5 overs) vs England.

 

20:01 (IST): Hashim Amla brings up his 1st T20I 50 (off 30 balls) with a single! South Africa 74/0 (9 overs) vs England.

20:00 (IST): Hashim Amla hits a boundary to finish off Stuart Broad's first over. South Africa 68/0 (8 overs) vs England.

 

19:47 (IST): Play has been interrupted once again because the floodlight has gone off. Players are moving out of the field. South Africa 62/0 (7.3 overs). Hashim Amla (40*), Quinton de Kock (19*).

 

19:46 (IST): England captain Stuart Broad bowling his first over. South Africa 61/0 (7.1 overs). Hashim Amla (40*), Quinton de Kock (18*).

19:26 (IST): Moeen Ali beats Hashim Amla and then is hit for six! South Africa 28/0 (2.5 overs) vs England.

19:25 (IST): Moeen Ali to Hashim Amla! 4! South Africa 22/0 (2.3 overs) vs England after being put in to bat.

 

19:10 (IST): There is a problem with the lights again in Chittagong after Hashim Amla hit a six and a 4 off Jade Dernbach! South Africa 17/0 (1.4 overs).

 

19:04 (IST): Moeen Ali gets ready to bowl the first over for England.

Playing XIs

England

Michael Lumb, Alex Hales, Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Chris Jordan, Stuart Broad, James Tredwell, Jade Dernbach

South Africa

Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Farhaan Behardien, David Miller, Albie Morkel, Dale Steyn, Beuran Hendricks, Imran Tahir, Wayne Parnell

14:33 (IST): England win the toss and elect to field first against South Africa at Chittagong. AB de Villiers will captain South Africa today in the absence of Faf du Plessis, who is serving a one-game ban because of slow over-rate. Farhaan Behardien comes in place of Du Plessis and also Wayne Parnell replaces Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Stuart Broad will be happy to win the toss and bowl first as they are a good side chasing with some good batsmen around, as shown in the last game by Alex Hales.

 

PREVIEW:

With back-to-back victories, South Africa have put themselves in contention for a semifinal berth and they will look to seal the berth when they clash with England in their last Group 1 league match of the ICC World T20.

South Africa had started their campaign on a sour note, losing to Sri Lanka by five runs, but they notched up successive wins against New Zealand and the Netherlands in the next two games to stay in the hunt.

England, too, started with a loss against New Zealand, courtesy rain that robbed them of a chance to defend their total of 172/6, but the Stuart Broad-captained side brought its campaign back on track with a six-wicket victory over table-toppers Sri Lanka on Thursday.

For South Africa, the wins looked far from convincing as, on both occasions, they somehow managed to beat New Zealand and the Netherlands by two and six runs respectively.

It was Dale Steyn, who scalped four wickets to derail New Zealand's chase in their second match, while last night, it was leg-spinner Imran Tahir's four-wicket haul that rescued them from the Netherlands.

South Africa's batting have not been consistent. JP Duminy have been their best batsman in the tournament but Faf du Plessis and De Villiers have been out of form for quite some time and they will have to show much more responsibility.

England, on the other hand, have to thank Alex Hales, who blasted a 64-ball 116 to help his team chase down Sri Lanka's 189. Eoin Morgan also smashed a 38-ball 57.

However, England were sloppy on the field as they dropped four catches and missed a run-out to allow Sri Lanka to reach the imposing total, and Broad will have to ensure they don't make the same mistake.