OPENERS COME TO PARTY FOR SA

De Kock slams 38-ball 65 as South Africa survive England scare to get across the line

- KALYANI MANGALE

DAREN Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St Lucia is supposed to be one of the highest-scoring grounds in this tournament. While batters struggled to score runs at places like New York and Trinidad, Gros Islet has been the batters' paradise. the lowest first innings total this ground had seen in the T20 World Cup before the fixture between England and South Africa was 180-scored by Scotland against Australia and West Indies versus England. The chasing sides won on both occasions.

So ahead of the EngalndSouth Africa match on Friday, the calculation for whoever batted first was simple: score 200+ runs to have a chance. For that to be achieved, at least one of the top-order batters had to go all out at a brisk pace.