CENTURION, South Africa: Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla hit hundreds and shared a double century opening partnership as South Africa kept the series against England alive by winning the third one-day international by seven wickets at SuperSport Park on Tuesday.
Joe Root made a career-best 125 as England posted a competitive 318 for eight after winning the toss.
England captain Eoin Morgan admitted: “I certainly thought at half-time that we would win the game.”
But De Kock and Amla made the target look easy as they put on 239 for the first wicket.
De Kock in particular was in majestic form as he made 135 off 117 balls, with 16 fours and four sixes before he hit leg-spinner Adil Rashid, England’s best bowler, to Root at mid-off.
Amla went on to make 127 before flashing at a wide ball from Chris Jordan to be caught behind with just eight runs needed.
South Africa won with 22 balls to spare. England lead the five-match series 2-1, with matches in Johannesburg and Cape Town to come.
South African captain AB de Villiers praised an “unbelievable” effort by De Kock and Amla but said he was always confident South Africa could win.
“We were up for it today,” said De Villiers.
“There was urgency in the field and a bit of hunger. I would have bowled first. Quite a few of us come from here and we know it is difficult to defend here at night.”
Root made his 125 off 113 balls with ten fours and five sixes, scarcely playing a false stroke.
He shared a second wicket partnership of 125 with Alex Hales, who made 65 off 73 balls, and 82 for the fifth wicket with Ben Stokes, who slammed 53 off 37 balls.
A mix-up with Stokes caused Root to be run out and South Africa came back into the match by taking another three wickets, including that of Stokes, in quick succession.
David Willey and Adil Rashid scored 27 runs off the last 15 balls of the innings as England finished strongly
With lightning flashing around the ground early in the South African innings, De Kock and Amla were soon ahead of the required run rate should play have been stopped. But the weather cleared and they batted on serenely.
De Kock, at the age of 23, became the youngest player to score ten one-day international centuries, reaching the mark off 96 balls, while Amla scored his 22nd one-day hundred off 109 deliveries.
Morgan paid tribute to “an incredible opening partnership” by the South African pair but added: “We didn’t string together enough balls in the right areas to put pressure on them.”
De Kock, Amla centuries sink England
De Kock, Amla centuries sink England
Al-Qadsiah victory over Al-Khaleej tightens Saudi Pro League title race
- Brendan Rodgers’ side now sit fourth on 43 points, four behind league leaders Al-Hilal
- Points dropped by Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli on Monday blow the title race wide open
RIYADH: Matchday 20 of the Saudi Pro League concluded after what was arguably the most dramatic week of the season, both on and off the pitch.
Monday saw the winter transfer window come to a close with late twists — most notably the transfer of Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad to Al-Hilal — alongside the highly anticipated clash between Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli. While all eyes were on that fixture, Al-Qadsiah quietly continued their unbeaten run with a 1-0 victory over Al-Khaleej, extending it to 10 matches.
With the campaign now beyond its halfway point, there is no telling who will become champion come end of the season. As things stand, Al-Hilal sit top with 47 points, followed by city rivals Al-Nassr on 46 points. In third place, Al-Ahli on 44 points, with Al-Qadsiah just behind on 43.
Al-Qadsiah’s win was anything but easy, however. Under Brendan Rodgers, one-goal victories had previously only come against against heavyweights such as Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad. Games against Al-Riyadh, Al-Fayha, Al-Hazem and Al-Najma — all in the bottom half of the table — were won by two goals or more.
Giorgos Donis’ Al-Khaleej presented a different challenge. Finding themselves in the upper mid-table this season thanks to stellar performances from the likes of Giorgos Masouras, Joshua King and Kostas Fortounis, it was never going to be easy for Al-Qadsiah, even in the absence of Fortounis due to injury.
It seemed like the flurry of games finally took its toll on the Knight of the East, with stars Julian Quinones and Musab Al-Juwayr looking fatigued. In the 38 days since Rodgers took charge at Al-Qadsiah, the side have played 10 matches, with five more to come in the next 23 days.
Despite 18 attempts at goal, only one came to fruition. A through ball to Quinones in the 41st minute was squared to Mateo Retegui, who finished into an open net to score the only goal of the game.
Al-Qadsiah didn’t sit back for the remainder of the game, prompting Al-Khaleej to take advantage of the spaces in behind the wing-backs to launch their own offence. Saudi national team centre-back Jehad Thekri was repeatedly left exposed, but backup goalkeeper Ahmed Al-Kassar did his best to prevent Al-Khaleej from finding an equaliser.
Despite being the week which saw the title race tighten to just four points between first and fourth, this was the second-lowest scoring Saudi Pro League matchday in history, with just nine goals across the nine games. None of the 18 teams were able to score more than one goal, with half the sides going goalless this round.
Elsewhere, just minutes away at E’GO Stadium, Al-Ettifaq managed to secure a valuable 1-0 victory against this campaign’s surprise package Al-Taawoun, after a 71st minute strike from Georginio Wijnaldum.
Meanwhile, Al-Kholood ended their streak of 18 games without a draw by grabbing a point in a 0-0 draw against Damac. The point for both sides was enough to see them end the round outside the relegation zone; Al-Kholood in 14th with 16 points and Damac in 15th with 12.
Saudi Pro League action returns on Thursday, with Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal continuing their title charges against Al-Hazem and Al-Okhdood respectively. Friday will feature the game of the round, with Al-Nassr welcoming Al-Ittihad at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh.
