ICC T20 World Cup 2016: England vs South Africa - 5 Talking Points
South Africa began their search for the elusive World title against an England side which had just come out on the wrong end of a Gayle Storm. A raucous crowd cheered both teams at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai as Eoin Morgans men faced a must-win contest.Perhaps highlighting the faith shown in the squad, they went in with an unchanged eleven. Despite succumbing to Australias aggression in their previous T20I assignment, the Proteas were confident after beating hosts India in a warm-up match at the same venue.It all appeared to go pear-shaped for England as Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla ran riot to plunder 83 runs from the Power Play. Though the spinners brought them back with a couple of breakthroughs, Morgan struggled to control the relentlessness of the South African batting lineup.But, the England batsmen started off with a bang to turn the tables on the Proteas. An unbelievable pursuit was made to look easy as Morgans side pulled off the highest chase in World T20 history. Lets take a look at the five memorable moments of the engrossing encounter which never fade away like the Axe Signature.
#1 Quinton de Kock makes a mockery of the England bowlers
When the first over came to an end, not a lot of people would have anticipated the carnage that was about to follow. Quinton de Kock began to annihilate the England attack with an array of powerful strokes.
The wicket-keeper batsman took 15 from a Reece Topley over and went further by carting David Willey for a staggering 20-run over. Morgan’s bewildered reaction summed up the day perfectly as England’s fielders wilted under the enormous pressure heaped upon them.
De Kock soon brought up the joint-fastest half-century by a South African when he whipped Adil Rashid for a brilliantly executed boundary. Though the 23-year old holed out to Alex Hales at mid-wicket, his maiden T20I fifty at a remarkable strike-rate of 216.66 had inflicted irreparable damage on an inexperienced bowling unit.