Twitter Reactions: England scamper to series leveller after late jitters

England turned up with a pretty lacklustre show in the Cape Town to go 0-1 down in the series. Then the washed off game at the Kingsmead in Durban meant that the Brits couldn’t emerge triumphant. Then under pressure, Eoin Morgan and Co came out with intent in the Pink ODI at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. In the end, they won by two wickets and drew level in the series.

De Kock and Miller top score

South Africa lost Reeza Hendricks early to Saqib Mahmood in a slow start. But Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma steadied the ship with a 66-run stand. Adil Rashid castled Bavuma on 29 and gave England a breather and in the very next over Moeen Ali got the better of Rassie van der Dussen. Nevertheless, De Kock looked at ease, scoring a fifty off 62 balls while the other batters strained.

He became Rashid’s second victim after getting 69 with five fours and a couple of sixes. JJ Smuts looked good for his 31 before getting run-out. In the last 10 overs, David Miller stepped on the gas and guided the Proteas to a competitive score of 256 for seven. He ended with 69 off 53 with four fours and as many sixes. For the Three Lions, Rashid was the standout performer, picking up three wickets.

England crawl home in thriller

The Brits got off to a brisk start courtesy Jason Roy (21) and Jonny Bairstow (43). The duo put on a 61-run stand off 6.2 overs. However, both were dismissed in quick succession by Beuran Hendricks and Lutho Sipamla respectively. Eoin Morgan fell prey to Hendricks after which Joe Root and Joe Denly (66) took charge. They cobbled together 76 vital runs to fizzle the spirit out of the home team.

Tabraiz Shamsi got Root caught at leg-slip on 49 to separate the duo. Nonetheless, Denly romped to his fifty off 72 balls. Tom Banton joined him for the fifth wicket and scored 32. But after both of them went, the pressure was back on the visitors, though they needed 24 runs in 12.5 overs. The Proteas chipped in with late wickets, but Moeen Ali’s 16-ball 17 got England through to victory.

Here’s how Twitterati reacted to the thrilling game in Johannesburg: –

1-42 with the ball
17*, including the winning runs, with the bat

Not a bad return to international cricket for Moeen Ali 👏#SAvENG pic.twitter.com/m9PNJqmk3U

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 9, 2020

Nervy ending but a @englandcricket win and a drawn series now onto T20 #SAvENG 🏏

— Mike Moyes (@mikemoyes1987) February 9, 2020

England made hard work of that in the end, but a win is a win. #SAvENG pic.twitter.com/MXNtCxmniJ

— Ian (@SuperPosh7) February 9, 2020

That turned out to be an interesting game. Good victory for England #SAvENG

— Amey Salvi (@IamAmeySalvi) February 9, 2020

Phew 😅 Well done Ali 👍 @englandcricket could have lost easily. Making every England fan worried and it got very tense. Unnecessary 🙄 #SAvENG 🏏

— N Jones (@Schnuckms) February 9, 2020

All over at the #PinkODI, the three match series ends level on 1-1. #SAvENG #PinkDay pic.twitter.com/0hytMI1lTP

— Mahlatse Mphahlele (@BraMahlatse) February 9, 2020

https://twitter.com/LeeHanlon9/status/1226535211955105793?s=20

A good and deserved win for @englandcricket but made much harder work of it than they should have. Got to make sure that complacency doesn’t set in. All teams will be gunning for us now we’re World Champions so we have to play like we are, at all times. #SAvENG

— Andy Rush (@AndyRush5) February 9, 2020

Thank gawd for that blistering start! #SAvENG #PinkDay

— Ayla (@CamilleHurn) February 9, 2020

Great to see Moeen Ali back in the England side and getting the winning runs today. Up the Moeen! #SAvENG

— Emo (@emo_bcfc) February 9, 2020

What a return Mooen Ali! Back to enjoying his cricket and scoring the winning runs 👏 #SAvENG 🏏

— Charlie Lumsdon (@CharlieLumsdon) February 9, 2020

Phew. Well done Moeen. #SAvENG

— Dre Harrison (@Harrison101HD) February 9, 2020

Looks like England just escaped a scare after dominating the whole match, won by 2 wickets. #SAvENG

— Askar sultan (@askargooner) February 9, 2020