South Africa produced a dominant all-round display to defeat England by 7 wickets in the first ODI of the three-match series, played in Leeds.
Batting first after being invited, England were bundled out for just 131 runs. Opener Jamie Smith fought hard with a top score of 54, but received little support from the rest of the batting order.
South African bowlers were outstanding, led by Keshav Maharaj, who claimed 4 wickets, while Wiaan Mulder added 3 scalps to dismantle the English batting line-up.
In reply, South Africa cruised to victory in just 20.5 overs, losing only 3 wickets. Aiden Markram smashed a brilliant 86 off 55 balls, steering the visitors to a comfortable win, with Ryan Rickelton contributing 31 runs. England’s only success came through Adil Rashid, who took all three wickets.
With this emphatic win, South Africa lead the ODI series 1-0. Keshav Maharaj was named Player of the Match for his match-winning bowling spell.
