England skittled for 149 after being set 208 to win series as South Africa draw level at 1-1; Rilee Rossouw slams 96 not out from 55 deliveries as Proteas post 207-3 - watch final T20I live on Sky Sports Cricket on Sunday (2pm on air, 2.30pm first ball)
Friday 29 July 2022 09:05, UK
England slipped to a 58-run defeat in the second T20 international as a much-improved bowling and fielding performance from South Africa saw the tourists take the three-match series to a decider.
South Africa were flogged for 234 runs and dropped four catches as England won Wednesday's first match in Bristol by 41 runs but rallied in Cardiff as they successfully defended 207-3, rolling the hosts for 149 in 16.4 overs after Proteas batter Rilee Rossouw cracked 96 not out from 55 balls.
Wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi bagged 3-27 and seamer Andile Phehlukwayo 3-39, a day after returning figures of 0-49 and 1-63 respectively, while Keshav Maharaj and Lungi Ngidi's superb catches to remove Moeen Ali (28 off 17) and Jonny Bairstow (30 off 21) highlighted a slick fielding display.
The result means Sunday's final fixture at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton, live on Sky Sports, will be a winner-takes-all affair.
South Africa's total was underpinned by Rossouw's third T20I half-century - over seven years after his second, with the 32-year-old only recently returning to international action for the first time since 2016 following a lengthy spell as a Kolpak player with Hampshire.
The left-hander showed the form he had displayed for Somerset in this year's Vitality Blast, a competition in which he slammed 623 runs and a tournament-leading 42 sixes during the Taunton team's run to Finals Day.
Rossouw - who struck 10 fours and five sixes in Cardiff on Thursday night - was denied a century with England seamer Chris Jordan (1-43) conceding only four runs from the final over of the South Africa innings.
Rossouw shared quick-fire half-century stands with Reeza Hendricks (53 off 32) and Tristan Stubbs (15no off 12) - Stubbs playing a much quieter knock than his rollicking 72 from 28 balls on Wednesday evening.
Hendricks reached back-to-back half-centuries from 29 balls before falling to a superb grab from Bairstow at deep backward square - Bairstow backpedalling and claiming the catch over his shoulder as his momentum threatened to take him over the boundary rope.
That stunning piece of fielding would have delighted bowler Richard Gleeson (1-38), who had spilled Hendricks at short fine leg in the previous over off the bowling of Sam Curran.
In reply, England skipper Jos Buttler (29 off 14) fired fleetingly for the second game in a row, drilling Phehlukwayo for two sixes and a four from as many deliveries before skying the seamer's fourth ball to mid-on.
Dawid Malan (5) and Jason Roy (20 off 22) then perished against the spin of Maharaj and Shamsi respectively, bringing first T20I heroes, Bairstow and Moeen, together at 77-3 in the ninth over - the two having shared a riotous stand of 106 from 37 balls in the series opener at Bristol.
However, both players' sparkling cameos were ended by fantastic catches - Maharaj with a diving grab at long-off to remove Moeen off Shamsi before Ngidi pouched Bairstow off Kagiso Rabada running back from point.
When Liam Livingstone (18 off 10) then scuffed Phehlukwayo behind in the 16th over, leaving England 141-7, the game was all but up, with Phehlukwayo and Ngidi (2-11) subsequently polishing things off.
South Africa captain David Miller: "We'll take the win, it was a great turnaround - we took our catches and the batters were phenomenal. I am chuffed with the bowlers, they made it easier for me by picking up wickets all the way through. It was a great performance."
England captain Jos Buttler: "The wicket played well so South Africa's score was par. We had guys like myself who got starts but didn't make the match-winning contribution. The Ageas Bowl will now be a great decider."
The final T20 international in Southampton is live on Sky Sports Cricket on Sunday (2pm on air, 2.30pm first ball).
From mid-August, England and South Africa will play a three-Test series, starting at Lord's (August 17-21) before further matches at Emirates Old Trafford (August 25-29) and The Kia Oval (September 8-12).
The 2022 season of The Hundred gets under way at The Ageas Bowl on Wednesday as defending men's champions Southern Brave welcome Welsh Fire to The Ageas Bowl in Southampton, live on Sky Sports.
Watch the final T20 international between England and South Africa, from The Ageas Bowl in Southampton, live on Sky Sports Cricket on Sunday. Coverage starts at 2pm with the first ball at 2.30pm.
