Dawid Malan and captain Jos Buttler struck centuries to set up a 59-run victory for England in the third and final one-day international against South Africa at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley on Wednesday. Malan made 118 and Buttler scored 131 to give England a total of 346 for seven. South Africa were bowled out for 287, with fast bowler Jofra Archer taking a career-best six for 40. South Africa had already taken the series by winning the first two games, but England captain Jos Buttler said victory of Wednesday was a reward for the hard work his players put in during the short series.
“There have been some really good things. Guys who made hundreds and Jofra Archer was brilliant. We’ve got a good thing. We’re building well,” said Buttler, who was named player of the match and player of the series.
South African captain Temba Bavuma said the series win was important. “We came in under a lot of pressure. We have done ourselves justice and have come closer to automatic qualification for the World Cup.”
South Africa need one win in their remaining two fixtures against the Netherlands to keep ahead of the West Indies for one of eight World Cup Super League qualifiers, though Sri Lanka can still edge them out in an upcoming series against New Zealand. Zealand.
The left-handed Malan and his right-handed captain shared a fourth wicket partnership of 232 off 211 balls after running into trouble with their team at 14 for three in the sixth over.
A slow start to the partnership turned into a deluge of runs as they took command on a slow pitch.
England scored 217 runs in the last 20 overs of their innings, scoring quickly even after the two centurions were dismissed.
South Africa chose to go into the match without their two fastest bowlers, Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada, and appeared powerless to control the score.
When South Africa took to bat, they were 59 runs ahead of comparative scores after 30 overs. The difference was that England had more power in the middle overs, with Archer and leg spinner Adil Rashid (three for 68) taking crucial wickets.
Archer, in the second game of an international comeback after a long injury hiatus, bowled consistently at speeds in excess of 145 km/h (90 mph).
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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