England began the T20 leg of the home series against South Africa with a comfortable 9 wicket win at The Rose Bowl, Southampton. The victory was achieved on the back of some tight bowling performances and unbeaten knocks from Alex Hales (47 from 38 balls) and Jonny Bairstow (60 from 35 balls).

The game was dominated by Englishmen completely. After electing to bat first, South Africa could post only 142/3 in 20 overs. The English bowling attack was highly disciplined in their actions and did not allow the Proteas to gain momentum at any stage of the game.

The host gained the grip over the match with a lively powerplay show. The first two overs saw both the openers depart. Left-arm swing bowler David Willey gave a super start with the wicket of opener JJ Smuts off the very first ball of the innings while Mark Wood put South Africa in deeper trouble with the wicket of the other opener Reeza Hendricks following over and later adding one more wicket in his kitty that of David Miller in the 5^th over.

At the end of the power play, the batting side was 43/3.

South Africa managed to survive and there was no further slump as skipper AB De Villiers (65 from 58 balls) and all-rounder Farhaan Behardien (64 from 52 balls) added 110 for the 4^th wicket and went on to play the entire quota of overs.

But, while both the individuals ensured there were no more damages, the duo ultimately failed to get going also which eventually resulted in a functional total. Barring the last two overs, where South Africa added 26 runs, England did not concede many expensive overs.

The below par score was never going to be a problem for the hosts unless they had South Africa-like start. The response was brilliantly led by Hales and Bairstow. The two stitched a 98-run partnership and made the chase a simple affair.

At the start, opener Jason Roy looked to be back in his old rhythm and smashed a quick 28 off just 14 deliveries. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to convert it into something big and lost his wicket in 5^th over to give South Africa their first and the last breakthrough.

Hales was joined by Bairstow and soon the process was carried out smoothly and at a fast pace. The duo hit 9 fours and 4 sixes together as England, powered by the run rate of 9.3, knocked off the target in just 14.3 overs.

The second T20I begins at Taunton on 23rd, June.