On Wednesday night, England’s cricket team made history. They beat South Africa by 146 runs in a game laced with record-breaking artistry. The quarterfinal match was played at the historic Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, known for its supportive atmosphere. After having set an astounding target of 304, losing just 2 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. This score sealed the deal for England. It was the highest of any bilateral series between two full-member nations as well as the highest ever made in a T20 International match.
Phil Salt was the star of the show, for England, hitting 141 not out off 50 balls to steer his side home. He slammed 14 boundaries and 10 maximums tucked in during his knock. Her fantastic innings marked the highest individual score by an England batter in T20 International history. The ever-reliable Jos Buttler chipped in with 83. Along with Salt, they created a powerful first-wicket stand of 126 runs.
England’s captain, Harry Brook, made his mark by scoring 41 not out in just 21 balls, while Jacob Bethell added 24 runs off 10 balls to further bolster the team’s total. Together, they laid bare England’s batting depth and fearless approach.
In failure’s wake on the mammoth target, South Africa lost the most ground. The whole team was dismissed for a measly 158 runs in only 16.1 overs. Aiden Markram was a standout performer for South Africa, with a blistering knock of 41 runs. Beyond that, the entire batting order was unable to cope with an inspired and focused England bowling attack. Jofra Archer put on quite the show, taking three wickets for just 25 runs. Sam Curran was brilliant, claiming two wickets for only 11 runs.
It was a true feast of England batting in that match, and a glimpse of their ability to go even further than ever before in T20 cricket. As Brook later described the game, processing still his shock that England managed to bat as horrifically in this match.
“I’m pretty lost for words. The way those two started off was just phenomenal.” – Harry Brook
Salt’s milestone innings have not only been personally defined milestones but collectively defined team milestones too. Later, he took to Twitter to share his excitement about his own performance and the result of the game.
“That was really good fun. Yeah, a personal milestone but the fact we got 300 and won by such a big margin, I can’t have asked for much more.” – Phil Salt
Brook added that the team’s faith in their batsmen had been the difference. He emphasized that to reach such a high score seemed nearly impossible prior to the game.
“Me and Jos were stood out there and said we never thought anyone would get 300. With the batting line-up we have got there are not many heights we can’t reach.” – Harry Brook
Thanks to an aggressive opening stand from Salt and Buttler, England raced out of the gate in the chase. Their electrifying performance would set the stage for a historic record-breaking night. Salt reached his ton in only 39 balls. This highlights his contact-oriented, aggressive batting approach and apparent ability to create scoring chances.
Salt and Brook put together an unbroken partnership of 83 in only 37 balls. It was a stunning achievement that England demonstrated their dominance by consistently building a high run rate across their batting order. As they wrapped up their innings on 304-2 it was evident that this would be too much for South Africa to chase.
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