IPL 2024: RR defeat RCB by 6 wickets on home turf
Through his brilliant knock, Buttler has also become only the second batter to score a 100 in his 100th IPL match, after K.L. Rahul.
Riding on skipper Eoin Morgan’s unbeaten 57 off just 22 balls on Sunday, England defeated South Africa by 5 wickets in the third and final T20I at SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium in Centurion.
Morgan reached his half-century in just 21 balls, equaling his own record set last year in New Zealand for the fastest T20I half-century by an England player. The southpaw hit as many as seven sixes to help England chase down a total of 223 runs with five balls to spare. However, Jonny Bairstow’s 64 off 34 along with Jos Buttler’s 57off 29 also helped England’s cause.
Though Moeen Ali hit the four down the ground to seal the series 2-1 for England, there was no doubt that Morgan won it for his team. The Irish-born cricketer bagged the Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards.
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The key partnership was Morgan’s stand with Ben Stokes, which reaped 61 runs from 27 balls.
Earlier, South Africa skipper Quinton de Kock had won the toss and opted to bat. South Africa posted 222 for 6 in their stipulated quota of 20 overs as Heinrich Klaasen and Temba Bavuma scored 66 and 49 runs, respectively.
For the Three Lions, Sam Curran and Ben Stokes were brilliant with the bowl as the duo conceded 68 runs between them and picked up four wickets. All the other bowlers had an economy of over 10 runs an over.
The victory helped England finish their two-month tour of South Africa with happy faces at the SuperSport Park ground in Centurion where they started with the first test.
The Englishmen came from behind in every one of the three series, fighting back to win the test series 3-1, to draw the ODI series 1-1, and to win the T20 series 2-1.
(With inputs from PTI)
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