South Africa fought their way to 163 for 6 off their 20 overs before England fell seven runs short of the target thanks to a stunning grab from Aiden Markram to dismiss Harry Brook (53) in the final over.
St Lucia: South Africa 163-6, England 156-6 - South Africa won by seven runs
South Africa made it two wins from two in the Super 8s stage of the T20 World Cup as they beat England by seven runs in St Lucia.
South Africa fought their way to 163 for 6 off their 20 overs before England fell seven runs short of the target thanks to a stunning grab from Aiden Markram to dismiss Harry Brook (53) in the final over.
It was the story of two left-handers for South Africa with the bat as Quinton de Kock (65 off 38) struck eight boundaries and David Miller (42 off 27) added some late-innings impetus.
Otherwise, it was a quiet innings from South Africa on what was expected to be a great batting surface. Reeza Hendricks struggled for 19 off 25 balls, Heinrich Klaasen (8 off 13) was promoted to No.3 before being brilliantly run out by Jos Buttler, and Aiden Markram was bowled by Adil Rashid for just 1.
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Jos Buttler had two brilliant fielding efforts to dismiss de Kock and Klaasen with a diving catch and run out respectively (Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Rashid (1 for 20) was magnificent again in his spell while Jofra (3 for 40) removed Miller and Marco Jansen (0) in the final over to recover from conceding 21 off the bat of de Kock in his first over. England were brilliant in the field taking a series of brilliant catches.
The South African fielding was mixed as Phil Salt (11) was acrobatically caught by Hendricks at cover to hand Rabada the first wicket and Jonny Bairstow (16 off 20), who was handed a life on nine when he was dropped by Klaasen, was well caught by Anrich Nortje a few overs later.
Klaasen redeemed himself when he caught Buttler (17 off 20) off the bowling of Keshav Maharaj (2 for 25) to pile the pressure on the England chase. The pressure further increased when Ottniel Baartman dismissed Mooen Ali (9).
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The 15th over appeared to be a turning point of the chase as Brook (52) and Liam Livingstone (33 off 17) took 18 runs off the bowling of Rabada which was followed up by 13 off Nortje in the next over.
Just as England looked to have the chase wrapped up Rabada dismissed Livingstone which also signalled a change in death bowling tactics from South Africa as they held on to win.
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