Ben Stokes brilliance leads England beat South Africa in a thrilling contest
Ben Stokes brilliance leads England beating South Africa by
189 runs which went down right down the wire on the fifth and final day of 2nd
Test match played at Newlands, Cape Town on Tuesday. With this win, England
earned 30 points in the ICC Test Championship.
Starting on the overnight score of 126 for 2, South Africa
lost an early wicket of night watch men Keshav Maharaj with a beauty by James
Anderson. Faf du Plessis and Pieter Malan looked solid with their defensive
against Anderson, Dom Bess and other England bowlers. At the end of first
drinks break, South Africa only lost 1 wicket.
With things looking good for South Africa, Faf du Plessis
played a sweep shot and was caught by Joe Denly for 19. England took the 2nd
new ball after the 80th over. Van der Dussen and Pieter Malan helped
South Africa reach 170 for 4 at lunch.
In the 2nd session, Pieter Malan and Van der
Dussen kept blocking against the England. Sam Curran provided the breakthrough
for England dismissing Malan with a good low catch by Ben Stokes. Quinton de
Kock came to the crease and kept his defensive technique against Joe Denly, Dom
Bess and other England bowlers. Van der Dussen also did his to perfection. At
the tea break, South Africa scored 225 for 5.
With 5 wickets remaining in the final session, Quinton de
Kock reached his fifty off 103 and played a poor stroke of Joe Denly bowling.
De Kock and Van der Dussen added 66 runs for the 6th over. In the
next over, Stuart Broad dismissed Van der Dussen to give England hopes of
winning the match. Ben Stokes provided the spark by dismissing Dwaine
Pretorius, Anrich Nortje in successive deliveries. With 6 overs left in the
day, Stokes produced a beauty to get rid of Vernon Philander as England
defeated South Africa by 189 runs to level the series.
It was a remarkable Test match which went right down the
wire. Ben Stokes proved the difference with a quick fire 72 on the 4th
day and got 3 important wickets to help England win a thrilling contest.
England 269 in 91.5 overs ( Ollie Pope
61*, Ben Stokes 47, Kagiso Rabada 3/68, Vernon Philander 2/46) and 391 for 8 in
111 overs ( Dom Sibley 133, Ben Stokes 72, Joe Root 61, Anrich Nortje 3/61,
Rabada 2/69) beat South Africa 223 in 89 overs (Dean Elgar 88, Van Der Dussen 68, James
Anderson 5/40, Stuart Broad 2/36) and 248 in 137.4 overs ( Pieter Malan 84,
Quinton de Kock 50, Elgar 34, Ben Stokes 3/35, James Anderson 2/23 , Joe Denly
2/42) by 189 runs.
Ben Stokes was awarded the man of the
match for his all-round performance. The third Test match will be played from
16th January at Port
 |
| Ben Stokes brilliance leads England to a stunning 189 runs in the 2nd Test |
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