Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram and Tabraiz Shamsi guided South Africa to a comprehensive series victory over England as they won the final T20I by a whopping 90-runs.
The Proteas scored 191-5 in their innings, with Hendricks and Markram both scoring half-centuries. Hendricks top scored with 70 off 50 balls, while Markram struck an unbeaten 51 off 36 as Rilee Rossouw and captain David Miller also played useful cameos.
England got off to a dream start when David Willey dismissed Quinton de Kock for nought, before Rossouw blasted a quick-fire 31 off 18. However, Moeen Ali bowled Rossouw with a brilliant delivery in his solitary over, with Hendricks and Markram then sharing an 87-run partnership.
After Hendricks was dismissed by Chris Jordan, Markram looked to accelerate alongside Miller, who added 22 off nine, to propel South Africa to 191-5. In response, Shamsi picked up his first ever five-wicket haul in T20Is as England capitulated to 101 all out.
After openers Jos Buttler and Jason Roy were both dismissed cheaply in the powerplay, England continued to lose regular wickets throughout their innings with only Jonny Bairstow passing 20. Shamsi was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa, but Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo and Markram all chipped in with wickets as the visitors were bowled out in exactly 100 deliveries for the second match in a row.
Willey's immediate impact
England made one change for this final T20I, bringing in Willey to replace Richard Gleeson and the left-armer produced an excellent display. He picked up 3-25 from his four overs, making an immediate impact after being handed the new ball.
In the first over of the match, Willey produced a wicket maiden as he removed the dangerous De Kock for a duck when he dragged the ball onto his own stumps. Willey was also convinced he should have had the wicket of Rossouw in the same over, but it was shown to be too high upon review.
Willey bowled three of his four overs in the powerplay to great effect and then returned to deliver the final over with South Africa on the charge, dismissing both Miller and Stubbs.
Hendricks stars again
His performances have gone slightly under the radar this series with Stubbs' brutal 72 in the first game and Rossouw's unbeaten 96 in the second overshadowing Hendricks' half-centuries. However, the opener has been in excellent form for the Proteas and notched a third consecutive fifty in the decider, scoring 70.
In the process, he became just the fourth South African to complete the feat after Hashim Amla, Makram and De Kock and ends the series as leading runscorer with 180 at an average of 60 and an impressive strike rate of 156.52. Hendricks may not have played at all this series had captain Temba Bavuma not been ruled out with an injury, but he has certainly made the most of his opportunity ahead of the T20 World Cup this winter.
"It's obviously nice to contribute," Hendricks said of his form ahead of the final T20I. "There's a lot of competition within the team at present, which is also a good thing as well.
"So I'm happy I got the opportunity and managed to put in good performances. Where that leaves me, I'm not sure, but whatever opportunity I get I’ll try to do the best as I can.
Roy's lean summer continues
In six innings in T20I cricket this summer, Roy has scored just 76 runs from 98 balls, sparking concern about his place in the side ahead of the T20 World Cup. Although nobody managed to fire with the bat in this game for England, Roy's innings of 17 off 18 looked all too familiar.
It contained no boundaries at all and means he ends the summer with just one innings where his strike rate was over 100, a 26-ball 27 against India at Trent Bridge. Although he retains the full backing of his teammates, understandable given his previous exploits in the format, Roy remains under huge pressure.
With young players like Phil Salt and Harry Brook waiting in the wings and Bairstow a potential option to open alongside Buttler, Roy will be hoping for a prolific Hundred campaign to shut down some of the concerns over his future.
Shamsi stars again
After getting blasted for 39 runs off just three overs in the first T20I in Bristol, Shamsi has bounced back brilliantly to end the series as the leading wicket taker. He has picked up eight wickets at an average of 12.50, having taken 3-27 in the win in Cardiff and followed it up with a brilliant five wicket haul at the Rose Bowl.
As a wrist spinner, Shamsi will be expensive at times, but he is also a potent wicket taking threat and he proved that in stunning fashion in this series. His 5-24 in this match was a brilliant performance and his best in T20Is for South Africa.
"I can't tell you how difficult an evening he had at Bristol, couldn't keep the ball in the park while he was bowling" former England batter Mark Butcher said on Sky Sports. "Since then he has come back like a champion. He's the number two T20 bowler in the world for a reason and he is having a ball.
England's poor start under new regime
Defeat at the Rose Bowl means England have lost the series 2-1 and it is their third straight T20I series defeat, having been beaten by the West Indies in January and by India earlier this month. In fact, it is the first time England have ever lost three T20I series in a row.
It also means England have failed to win a single white-ball series at home this summer under new skipper Buttler, having lost the ODI series against India and drawn the ODI series against South Africa - the first time that has happened in nine years.
It has been an incredibly challenging start to life for Buttler and new coach Matthew Mott, with the batting in particular failing to deliver in both the ODIs and T20Is. England's run of 12 matches in just 24 days has certainly not helped Buttler and Mott put their own stamp on the side, but fans will rightly expect more from a team with so many white-ball superstars.
