Rabada hat-trick adds to heartbreak as Proteas bow out

South Africa inflicted the first defeat of the T20 World Cup on England, but not by enough of a margin to unseat Australia and reach the semi-finals.

Having scored a huge 2-189 they needed to restrict England to 131, but could only limit them to 8-179.

The Proteas thus finished on eight points level with England and Australia, but third on net run rate. England won the group and Australia also go through to the semi-finals.

"The win was important, but a bittersweet ending for us," said Temba Bavuma.

South Africa's captain added: "We achieved what we wanted to do in terms of winning, but didn't win well enough. We gave our all with the bat and with the ball.

"But I'm very proud of the side and think there's a lot we can take away from this. This will give us experience and learnings we can take from this World Cup going forward."

England, however, look to have lost Jason Roy for the rest of the tournament. The opener appeared to pull a hamstring attempting a quick single, had to be helped from the field, and was on crutches at the end.

Image Id: 5525688A21264F3985DBDB15FB26BDD0 Image Caption: Jason Roy hobbled out to shake hands at the end // Getty

"It obviously didn't look great, and we'll wait until tomorrow to see what his movement is like," captain Eoin Morgan said of Roy's injury.

"Obviously we're all hopeful that he comes through in some manner or there's some remedy to get him through one, if not two games," Morgan said.

"He's unbelievably important. He's a guy that epitomises everything that we are about in the changing room and the way that we play.

"We have dealt with a lot of injuries throughout and before the tournament with Ben Stokes, Sam Curran and Jofra Archer all out.

"He will be assessed tomorrow but we have a lot of depth and that is something we have tried to build over the last couple of years."

Put into bat Rassie van der Dussen hit a career-best 94 not out, made in 60 balls, and Aiden Markram an unbeaten 52 off just 25 balls, as they formed a boundary-laden unbroken 103-run partnership. 

Moeen Ali's four overs went for 27, for one wicket, but the other bowlers went for eight-or-more an over with Mark Wood, returning in place of the injured Tymal Mills, conceding 47 of four overs.

England raced to 37 without loss in four overs but Roy then collapsed in agony after setting off for a run, completed with a hobble, and was carried off the field, with England now facing an anxious wait over the opener's fitness.

Image Id: 1293F1269FA04290815CFD6512E3208E Image Caption: Jason Roy had to be helped off the field after collapsing // Getty

The teams served up an instant classic in their last meeting in this tournament, with England reaching a 230 target five years ago, and they required 14 from the last over here, but Rabada held his nerve spectacularly at the death.

He had earlier been hammered for three successive sixes by Liam Livingstone, the first measured at a tournament-record 112 metres, but then snared Eoin Morgan, Chris Woakes and Chris Jordan, who were all caught in the deep.

Ali top-scored with 37 in 27 balls, Dawid Malan hit 36 off 26 balls, Livingston 28 off 17 balls, and Jos Buttler 26 off 15. But all were caught as they looked to be cutting loose.

"You never want to lose and we're not used to losing but when we do we normally bounce back well," said Wood. "It is just a reminder that we still have stuff to work on."

2021 Men's T20 World Cup

Semi-finals

Nov 10: TBC v TBC, Abu Dhabi (6pm local, 1am Nov 11 AEDT)

Nov 11: TBC v TBC, Dubai (6pm local, 1am Nov 12 AEDT)

Final

Nov 14: TBC v TBC, Dubai (6pm local, 1am Nov 15 AEDT)

All matches live and exclusive on Fox Cricket, available on Kayo Sports.

Click here for the full 2021 ICC T20 World Cup schedule

Click here for the full squads for all 16 teams

How the teams are grouped

Round 1

Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia

Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Oman

Super 12s

Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh

Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Scotland, Namibia