END OF OVER:20 | 12 Runs 2 Wkts | SA: 202/7 (3 runs required, RR: 10.10)
- Rassie van der Dussen43 (26b)
- Tom Curran4-0-45-2
- Chris Jordan4-0-31-2
10.07pm: What a spectacle. T20 cricket is simply brilliant. England managed to get up to 204, primarily thanks to that innings from Moeen at the back end, but de Kock's Valentine's special looked to have taken it away from them. Wood and Stokes pulled it back brilliantly in the middle, but van der Dussen and Pretorius wouldn't give it up. Pretorius got it down to three off two, but Curran held his nerve right at the end to seal a two-run win. Miller is putting the finer touches on his report, but from Thilak, Alan and me it's thank you and goodnight. We'll see you on Sunday.
And finally some thoughts from Eoin Morgan: "We'd have liked to win both. The performance was a considerable improvement from East London. SA had the better of the batting conditions but our bowlers came up trumps today. Stand-out for us today was Moeen Ali, such a match-winning innings. [Jordan] He's outstanding, one of our more experienced bowler. He's got a very cool, calm head on his shoulders. He seems to deliver when it matters. It's a tough ground to bowl on here. [Curran] It takes a lot of courage when the best ball to bowl is a gamble ball, the slower ball at the end. Fantastic catch by Rashid, we go to Pretoria on Sunday at 1-1."
Moeen Ali is man of the match for his 11-ball 39. Four sixes, three fours. "It was nice to go out and middle a few early on to get going. I went on my instinct and thought I'd put the pressure back on the bowlers. It's just nice for it to come off. We bat deep - Morgy always talks after a loss about coming out even more positively than we did in the game before. It's been quite a while since I played for England so it was nice to contribute to winning a game."
And over to the presentation. Quinton de Kock: "It's great cricket. Both teams are playing really good cricket at the moment. It was just unfortunate we didn't come across the line. [79 off the last five overs for England] It was quite difficult. They bowled really well at the death, but I think we can get better. I'm sure the bowlers know that. Rassie thrives in those sorts of situations. He played really well, handled the pressure exceptionally well. [Fastest 50 for SA] I wasn't expecting it to happen today... still disappointing not to get across the line."
Some thoughts from Chris Jordan on Sky: "Lost for words really... up and down, we didn't bowl that badly up front and then we did really well to hold on at the end. Easy to get your head down after going for two boundaries but Tom did really well. I just tried to keep everybody nice and calm, try to focus on execution as much as possible. TC's been bowling really well in training, just come from the Big Bash, and he's got a big heart. I backed him enough for me to give him 8 [to defend] so I was glad to give him 15. If you come out on the right end of a situation like this it gives you a lot of confidence."
"South Africa bowled exactly 2 more extras than England," notes Jay. "We live in a world of small margins."
Hilton: "Those two balls Smuts LEFT ALONE in the 16th over the difference... "
Peter: "This series is pretty good value isn't it?"
9.52pm: And breathe! England win by two runs to square the series 1-1. SA just couldn't get van der Dussen on strike - he didn't face any of the last ten balls! Brilliant game of T20 cricket: Moeen and de Kock played two of the most belligerent innings you'll see, England looked to have wrapped it up with Wood superb in the middle overs but van der Dussen and Pretorius dragged it back. And then how good was Tom Curran right at the end: nailed his yorker with three needed from two balls, and then backed his back-of-the-hand slower ball which accounted for Fortuin.
"It's the Misbah finish!!" cries Osman Samiuddin, referring to the 2007 World T20 final... Joginder Sharma, eat your heart out!
Now then... drama! Rashid saw Fortuin getting down to scoop and took a stride or two back.. it's the Big Bash scenario that we saw with Hales and Zampa. But he's allowed to anticipate so long as he's inside the circle at the point of delivery, so the catch is clean!
BC Fortuin c Rashid b Curran 0 (2m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
What does Curran go for here? Got to be a quick yorker. Same field, fine leg and third man in the ring. Here we go!
Bjorn Fortuin is on strike. He can bat - three first-class hundreds to his name.
And breathe... great ball from Curran, Pretorius departs. 3 needed to win, 2 for the Super Over. England need a dot, a single or a wicket. Long conference in the middle for both teams.
D Pretorius lbw b Curran 25 (9m 13b 2x4 1x6) SR: 192.30
Fine leg, third man, point and extra cover inside the circle.
3 needed off 2 balls. Huge pressure on Curran. What's his go-to? Does he risk the back-of-the-hander?
Huge cheer from the Kingsmead faithful for the not-out call!
5 off 3 balls
Hamzah: "Pretorius... You beauty!!"
9 off 4 balls. Still England's to lose.
Tom Curran is the man given the responsibility.
Munir Ranjha: "Smelling a super over here." My Valentine's Day plans will be out of the window if that happens...
15 required from 6 balls. Another nail-biting finish in store.
END OF OVER:19 | 11 Runs | SA: 190/5 (15 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 10.00, RRR: 15.00)
- Dwaine Pretorius13 (8b)
- Rassie van der Dussen43 (26b)
- Chris Jordan4-0-31-2
- Mark Wood4-0-39-2
SA desperate for a boundary, 20 needed from 8 balls. How many can they get off the last over?
MikeJM: "Why is Stokes not expected to bowl the last over? He has bowled well so far." Stokes bowling the last over in T20s isn't usually a recipe for success!!
Tasmeem: "What a player Rassie is turning out to be across formats. He's paying South Africa with the dividends for showing the faith."
Chris Jordan to finish his allocation. Curran likely to bowl the last. Fine leg, third man, mid-off, extra cover in the ring
SA are back in the game... Though ESPNcricinfo's forecaster remains dubious, giving them an 18.6% chance of sealing the win.
END OF OVER:18 | 19 Runs | SA: 179/5 (26 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 9.94, RRR: 13.00)
- Rassie van der Dussen42 (25b)
- Dwaine Pretorius3 (3b)
- Mark Wood4-0-39-2
- Chris Jordan3-0-20-2
Outrageous stroke from van der Dussen... 19 off the over, one to go
Fine leg comes up into the ring. Third man, backward point, extra cover the other in the circle
Srinivasan: "SA formula is very simple across the formats, win the first and lose the remaining ....." If it ain't broke... oh, hang on
Mark Wood returns for his fourth and final over. Brilliant so far tonight
"Brilliant by Jordan," judges Reginald Tripp. "About time England's bowlers realised that fast yorkers are the way to get tailenders and batsmen in a hurry out"
END OF OVER:17 | 5 Runs 2 Wkts | SA: 160/5 (45 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 9.41, RRR: 15.00)
- Dwaine Pretorius2 (2b)
- Rassie van der Dussen25 (20b)
- Chris Jordan3-0-20-2
- Tom Curran3-0-33-0
Great over from Jordan. SA's hopes rest solely on van der Dussen's shoulders now.
Dwaine Pretorius strides out to face the hat-trick ball. Very deep in his crease. SA's chances down at 7% after those two wickets, suggests our forecaster
And for the second time in as many games, Chris Jordan is on a hat-trick!
AL Phehlukwayo b Jordan 0 (1m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Andile Phehlukwayo is the new man.
JT Smuts b Jordan 13 (22m 12b 0x4 1x6) SR: 108.33