South African Proteas Win International Series

South Africa beat England today to win the KFC T20 series with a 2-0 victory!

The Oxigen Proteas achieved a brilliant 9-wicket victory with 32 balls to spare in the final match at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium today.

“The Proteas were special today and deserve full congratulations on winning the T20 series,” said Cricket South Africa (CSA) Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat. “It was a real privilege to have been at the Wanderers to witness a top-class all-round performance by our team.

“The Proteas have fought back well over the last few weeks and they can be proud of winning both the limited over formats against England.”

AB de Villiers was named KFC Man of the Match today, and Imran Tahir the KFC Man of the Series.

England are the Proteas’ first opponents at the ICC event in India and this performance will give them extra confidence. Significantly, the Proteas won both matches batting second which is an area where they have run into problems in previous ICC events.

De Villiers (71 off 29 balls, 6 fours and 6 sixes) and Hashim Amla (69 not out off 38 balls, 8 fours and 3 sixes) set up the successful runs chase with their partnership of 125 in just 8.2 overs.

De Villiers and Amla complement one another perfectly with their diverse styles. While De Villiers stood out for the ruthlessness of his brutality, Amla was a joy for the purists, stroking 3 fours off one over from Ben Stokes and 4 off another from Chris Jordan.

De Villiers improved his SA record for the fastest 50 from 23 balls to 21 while Amla was no slouch either with 50 off 27 balls. Their power play of 88 runs in six overs was the third highest ever achieved but the highest in a match involving two full members of the ICC.

Once they had finished with only 47 needed off the remaining 70 balls there was little left for Amla and Faf du Plessis to provide the finishing touches.

Kyle Abbott was the most successful bowler with 3/26.

CSA’s Lorgat thanked the England team for the excellent cricket they have played throughout the tour and said South Africa looks forward to meeting them again at the ICC World twenty20 next month in our opening match.

Source: www.cricket.co.za