South Africa vs England, 2020: 2nd T20I – Quinton de Kock's quick-fire fifty, England's narrow win, Moeen Ali's blitz and more stats

England managed to sneak a 2-run win against South Africa at the Kingsmead as the score-line of the 3-match T20I series now reads 1-1.  England finished on 204/7 despite struggling for the majority of the middle overs to score at a decent pace. Jason Roy (40) and Jonny Bairstow (35) put on 52 for the 2nd wicket in 25 balls while Ben Stokes (47*) and Moeen Ali (39) shared a 51-run stand in only 17 deliveries for the 6th wicket. These two partnerships accounted for 103 runs of England in only 8 overs.

Quinton de Kock took on the English bowlers in the powerplay smashing them for 8 sixes during his 22-ball 65. South Africa innings wasn’t same after his dismissal as the required rate crept up to as high as 15 by the end of 17th over. Rassie van der Dussen stood till the end scoring an unbeaten 26-ball 43 but didn’t get to face a ball after 18.2. Dwaine Pretorius scored a 13-ball 25 but fell on the penultimate ball when they were only 3 runs away from a win.

All the statistical highlights from England’s close win against South Africa in Durban:

A rare win in South Africa:

2 – Only the 2nd time England have defeated South Africa in 7 T20I meetings on South African soil. The other instance of the Proteas losing a home T20I against England was by a 1-run margin in the 2009 Johannesburg T20I. Overall, this was only the 3rd win out of 11 T20Is for England in South Africa.

A narrow win for England:

2 – Only the 3rd time England won a match by as few as two runs in the T20I format. They defeated South Africa by one run during the 2009 Johannesburg T20I and beat New Zealand by two runs in the 2018 Hamilton T20I.

Another 200+ total in a defeat for South Africa:

4 – Number of 200+ totals in the T20I cricket for South Africa in defeats; the most such totals for any team in this format. England and West Indies lost three T20Is apiece despite posting 200+ totals.

12 – South Africa now has 12 totals of 200+ in T20I cricket; the joint 2nd most 200+ T20I totals for any team. India posted 200+ on 17 occasions while Australia also has 12 totals in excess of 200. England is next on this list as they are tied with New Zealand on nine 200+ totals.

Sixes galore in Durban:

15 – Number of sixes South Africa has struck in this match; the 2nd most number of sixes they have hit during a T20I game. The most sixes South Africa hit in a T20I are 17 maximums during the 2009 Centurion T20I also against England.

28 – A total of 28 sixes have been hit by both the teams in this match; the most in a T20I match hosted by South Africa. The previous most was 24 sixes during the 2015 Johannesburg T20I between the hosts and West Indies.

A first for England at Kingsmead:

1 – The 2-run win in this game is England’s maiden win in a limited-overs International at the Kingsmead in Durban. England lost both the T20I matches the played at this venue before this win. England also lost two out of four ODI matches played here while another two ended without a result. However, in Test cricket, England won six out of 16 matches and lost only once in Durban.

De Kock’s quick-fire knock:

17 – Quinton de Kock’s 17-ball fifty in this match is the fastest for South Africa in the T20I format. The previous fastest T20I fifty for South Africa was shared by AB de Villiers and De Kock himself in 21 balls; both against England in 2016.

List of records Quinton de Kock created with his 22-ball 65 against England in the Durban T20I

Moeen and Stokes guide England to a big score:

354.54 – Moeen Ali’s batting strike rate of 354.54 during his 11-ball 39 is the highest strike rate in an innings for England in International cricket. (Min: 30 runs) The previous highest was 344.44 also by Moeen during his unbeaten 9-ball 31 in the 2019 CWC match against Afghanistan.

18 – The run rate during the partnership between Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes is the highest for England in a 50+ stand in the T20I format. Sam Billings and David Willey put on 68 from 25 balls at a rate of 16.32 during last year’s T20I.

47* – The unbeaten 47 is the highest score for Ben Stokes in his 25-match T20I career. The previous highest was 38 off 27 balls against India during the 2017 Nagpur T20I.

A 200+ total without a fifty:

204/7 – England’s total of 204/7 is only the 6th T20I total in excess of 200 without an individual fifty. England’s total is now the 4th highest T20I total without an individual fifty and their 2nd highest such total. They made 214/7 against New Zealand in the 2013 Auckland T20I with an individual score of 46.

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