Cricket World Cup History: The last time South Africa and England met in the tournament, it was another choke from the Proteas
With just a few hours left for the commencement of the ICC World Cup 2019, cricket's greatest extravaganza, there's a lot of buzz among fans all around the world. The Proteas would be locking horns against the in-form hosts England at the Kennington Oval, London in the first match of the tournament.
The round-robin format promises to be challenging for the teams as they need to manage their workload and keep up their fitness levels.
Both England and South Africa would be desperate to start their World Cup campaign on a positive note. England have managed to reach the final three times in the past, but failed to cross the final hurdle on all three occasions. The South Africans on the other hand are generally known to wilt under pressure situations, thereby earning the infamous 'chokers' tag.
The last time these two teams met in the World Cup was eight years ago, in the 2011 edition. It was a nail-biting contest where England managed to hold their nerve and beat South Africa by a small margin of 6 runs.
England won the toss and elected to bat first in the hot and humid conditions at Chennai. However, the South African spinners Robin Peterson and Imran Tahir rocked the English batsmen and put them in early trouble at 15/3. Captain Andrew Strauss fell for a third-ball duck and the experienced Kevin Pietersen too lasted just three balls.
The revival act came from Jonathan Trott and Ravi Bopara. They both scored patient half centuries and brought the innings back on track. The two added 99 runs for the fourth wicket, but against the run of play, Trott was dismissed by Tahir for a 94-ball 52.
Once Bopara was dismissed for a well made 60, it was only a matter of time before the English tail was cleaned up. Tahir and Peterson accounted for seven wickets between them, and England eventually folded for a below par 171.
In reply, South Africa had a great start from the duo of Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla. The two added 63 for the first wicket before Smith was dismissed for 22.
With just over 100 runs required, nine wickets in hand and plenty of overs left, it was surely South Africa's game. But that wasn't to be.
Being introduced as the fifth bowler, Stuart Broad bowled his heart out and tormented the South African batsmen. He took the prized scalps of Amla and Jacques Kallis in quick succession and put tremendous pressure on the middle order. The boundaries dried up and singles were hard to come by.
The pressure created by the English bowlers reaped rich rewards, as three wickets - of AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy - fell at the score of 124. England now sensed an opportunity to cash in, and they did not fail.
Their bowlers polished off the tail and they clinched the match by just six runs. The star of the show was Broad, who picked up 6/15 in 6.4 overs.
South Africa had once again failed to seize an opportunity to close out the game from a winning position.
In the 2019 edition, South Africa are going to play three matches in the space of just seven days. They would be hoping to put their past memories behind and look to make a fresh start.
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