World T20: Root leads England to epic win over South Africa

England's Joe Root hit a sparkling 83 to lead them to the highest-ever run chase in World Twenty20 cricket and a dramatic two-wicket victory over South Africa in Group One on Friday.

England laboured in the field as South Africa racked up a huge total of 229-4 but an explosive knock by opener Jason Roy gave them momentum and Root struck six fours and four sixes to kick-start their campaign after an opening loss to West Indies.

Roy smashed 43 off 16 balls and Root led England to their highest ever Twenty20 total, with another gem of an innings from the 25-year-old.

“The fact that we can pull off performances like that with the bat will give us a lot of confidence for the rest of this group stage and hopefully further on in the tournament,” Root, still wearing his pads, told reporters.

“There is no better feeling than winning a game when you are up against it. I can’t wait to get back in the dressing room and celebrate with the rest of the boys.”

South Africa, one of the favourites for the tournament, raced to 96-0 after seven overs as Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock made quickfire fifties in an explosive opening stand.

De Kock, who thrashed David Willey for 20 in the third over, hit seven fours and three sixes during his 24-ball knock before he fell to off-spinner Moeen Ali.

Amla, who was dropped on nine by Reece Topley off Ali, hit the same number of boundaries before falling to the off-spinner.

JP Duminy (54 not out) and David Miller (28 not out) provided the finishing touches for South Africa with an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 60.

ROLLICKING START

Roy and Alex Hales gave England, the 2010 champions, a rollicking start, plundering 48 runs from 15 deliveries before both fell to paceman Kyle Abbott.

England looked to maintain their tempo but leg-spinner Imran Tahir pegged them back with 1-28 in his four overs.

Root, however, was imperious in his 44-ball knock and added 75 for the fifth wicket with Jos Buttler (21), bringing the sizeable crowd to their feet.

England needed one run to win from the final over but lost the wickets of Jordan and Willey before Moeen struck the winning run with two balls to spare.

South Africa, who have never won a major global one-day tournament, play on Sunday against Afghanistan who are also England's next opponents on Wednesday.

England innings

England spurred by a scintillating half century from Joe Root (83) pulled off a two-wicket win over South Africa in a tense finish with two balls to spare in Mumbai on Friday night.

Chasing a daunting target of 230, England were off to flier with Roy hammering 43 to put them on course to complete a record run-chase of 230-8 which is the highest in World T20.

Root's spectacular knock comes to an end with England needing 11 off 10 balls. Eng 219-6, 18.2 overs.

Joe Root c Miller b Rabada 83 (44b 6x4 4x6)

Tahir breaks the partnership as de Kock whips off the bails with Buttler going for a walk. Eng 186-5, 15.4 overs.

Jos Buttler st de Kock b Imran Tahir 21 (14b 1x4 1x6)

Duminy strikes Morgan chopping onto his stumps attempting to cut too close to his body. Eng 111-4, 9.4 overs.

Eoin Morgan b Duminy 12 (15b)

Stokes falls after hammering Rabada for a six earlier smashing a full toss to the square leg fielder. Eng 87-3, 5.4 overs.

Ben Stokes c Morris b Rabada 15 (9b 1x4 1x6)

Abbott has struck again as Roy gives a skier after hammering a six previous ball. Eng 71-2, 4.3 overs.

Jason Roy c de Kock b Abbott 43 (16b 5x4 3x6)

Abbott strikes trapping Hales leg before. Eng 48-1, 2.3 overs.

Alex Hales lbw b Abbott 17 (7b 4x4)

Steyn goes for 23 in his first over with Hales flicking the first three deliveries to the leg side fence before hoisting the final ball for a six. Eng 44-0, 2 overs.

England are off to a flying start with Roy cracking four boundaries off Rabada as they begin chasing 230. Eng 21-0, 1 over.

South Africa innings

Half centuries by Amla (58), de Kock (52) and Duminy (54 not out) have powered South Africa to 229-4 after being put into bat.

Duminy brings up his half century off just 26 balls by hoisting Jordan for his third six.

Proteas lose their skipper as they maintain the momentum. SA 173-4, 16 overs.

Faf du Plessis c Roy b Willey 17 (17b 1x4)

Ali strikes trapping Amla leg before. SA 133-3, 11.5 overs.

Hashim Amla lbw b Ali 58 (31b 7x4 3x6)

Amla hoists Ali over midwicket for his third six to bring up his half century of 25 balls. SA 125-2, 10 overs.

Rashid has the last laugh after being hammered for a couple of sixes by AB de Villiers. SA 114-2, 9 overs.

AB de Villiers c Morgan b Rashid 16 (8b 2x6)

England get a breakthrough as de Kock smashes to the fielder at midwicket. SA 100-1, 8 overs.

Quinton de Kock c Hales b Ali 52 (24b 7x4 3x6)

Quinton has smashed Adil for a boundary to complete his half century off 21 balls. SA 96-0, 7 overs.

Amla and de Kock have powered South Africa to 83-0 in 6 overs with some exquisite strokeplay.

Jordan goes for 22 as Amla whacks a six and boundaries. SA 72-0, 5 overs.

Amla gets into the act cracking a couple of boundaries off Ali while Quinton de Kock continues to make merry with an exquisite late cut. SA 50-0, 4 overs

Quinton de Kock is dealing in sixes and boundaries smashing Willey all over the park. SA 37-3, 3 overs.

Topley goes for 15 as Quinton smashes a six over extra cover and two more boundaries. SA 17-0, 2 overs.

England have won the toss and opted to bowl against South Africa in the Super 10 Group1 match at Mumbai on Friday

England: JJ Roy, AD Hales, JE Root, JC Buttler, EJG Morgan, BA Stokes, MM Ali, CJ Jordan, AU Rashid, DJ Willey, RJW Topley

South Africa: Q de Kock, HM Amla, F du Plessis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, DA Miller, CH Morris, KJ Abbott, DW Steyn, K Rabada, Imran Tahir

Preview

England need a win against South Africa Friday after defeat in their opening World Twenty20 match while the Proteas want to get their bid for a first international trophy off to a strong start.

Captain Eoin Morgan's England side were blown away by a Chris Gayle century at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday night as the West Indies won by six wickets.

Morgan will be looking for more from his batsmen after they fell short of his target of 200, finishing on 182 for six, and from his bowling attack who he said performed at around 80-90 percent.

The English skipper rued losing the toss to West Indies captain Darren Sammy, who opted to field, and Morgan feels the game of chance will again play a big part on Friday in Mumbai's humid conditions.

"It was a lot more dewy tonight and the ball got a lot more wet. But certainly we're better for playing in it," he said following the opening Super 10 Group 1 defeat.

"Even at the toss I said I was going to chase so it could be a big part for me in the South Africa game," Morgan added.

The captain said before the tournament that he would use all 15 squad members at his disposal, and replacing David Willey with powerful fast bowler Liam Plunkett is a likely switch for Friday's do-or-die contest.

Morgan said he treated every match as "a must-win game" and the next encounter is no different as a second defeat would all but end England's chances of progressing to the semi-finals.

For South Africa the night match marks the start of their quest to once and for all remove the chokers tag that skipper Faf du Plessis admits has become "a monkey on the back" of their team.

Since their readmission in 1991 after the apartheid era ban, the Proteas have been the nearly men of world cups in both T20 and 50 over cricket, falling agonisingly short of the final on several occasions.

Despite their failure to win a major trophy, South Africa are one of the tournament favourites and are currently in third place in the T20 world rankings.

"The only way you can get rid of that (the chokers' tag) is to perform under pressure," du Plessis said last week.

"I think it's fair but the only way you will ever get that monkey off your back is if you do win a trophy," added the 31-year-old batsman.

Teams

South Africa (from): Faf du Plessis (captain), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Chris Morris, David Miller, Aaron Phangiso, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, David Wiese

England (from): Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, James Vince, David Willey

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