Rain of sixes was witnessed in the first T20 encounter between England & South Africa. There were total of 29 sixes smashed in the match, in which 20 sixes were alone hit by the English batsmen.
England put on a colossal total of 234 runs on the board. Jonny Bairstow and Moeen didn’t show mercy on Proteas bowlers, they hit their deliveries in every part of the ground. Jonny Bairstow slammed 90 runs facing just 53 deliveries with the help of 8 colossal sixes. Dawid Malan also contributed 43 runs hitting 4 sixes in the innings.
Apart from Malan and Bairstow, Moeen Ali showed his wrath on African bowlers. He completed his half century in just 16 balls and became the fastest half centurion for England in T20I cricket. Ali departed after scoring 52 runs off 18 balls with the help of 6 sixes.
In the 15th over of Phehlukwayo, Moeen Ali took charge. On the 3rd delivery, Moeen dispatched the short delivery of Phehlukwayo for a big six towards the deep leg square side. The ball was caught by spectator in the crowd, who took a stunning catch which surprised everyone sitting around him. Even Keshav Maharaj who was fielding at the boundary, could not stop himself from lauding that terrific catch.
In response, South Africa scored 193 runs and fell short of 40 runs. Tristan Stubbs who was playing in just his first T20I match for South Africa wrecked havoc on English bowlers, scoring 72 runs off just 28 deliveries. The second match of the series will be played on Thursday in Cardiff.