ENG vs SA: Barmy Army, Graeme Smith, AB de Villiers, Harsha Bhogle react as South Africa beat England in thriller

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ENG vs SA: South Africa maintained their unbeaten run in the tournament by beating England by seven runs in their second Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet in St Lucia on Friday (June 21).

South Africa held their nerves to defend a 164-run target after losing plot just for three of the last six overs. The Proteas leaked 52 runs in three overs (15, 16 and 17) as England, who were struggling at 87/4 in 14 overs, crawled back, needing 25 runs from the last 18 balls.

Harry Brook (53) and Liam Livingstone (33) partnered for 78 runs off just 42 balls to bring the Three Lions back in the contest. However, sensational last three overs from Kagiso Rabada (4 runs in 18th over), Marco Jansen (7 runs in 19th over) and Anrich Nortje (6th in 20th over) helped South Africa survive the scare.

Earlier, South Africa were restricted to 163/6 despite a 86-run partnership off 59 balls between openers Quinton de Kock (65 off 38) and Reeza Hendricks after being asked to bat first.

Jos Buttler's exceptional glovework to take the catch of de Kock and run out Heinrich Klaasen with a direct hit on the non-striker's end took the sheen out of the South African innings.

It was experienced left-hand batter David Miller, who scored 43 off 28 to take South Africa to a fighting total. Jofra Archer picked three wickets for England but gave away 40 runs.

Fans, former cricketers and commentators took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to react to the thrilling win by South Africa, who have earned the tag of perennial chokers for their repeated failure in the crucial moments of the match. Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith and commentator Harsha Bhogle were among the first ones to praise the Aiden Markram-led team.