That's it then for this series and it is South Africa who win it 2-0. The Proteas skipper, David Miller picks up the winners' trophy and he and his team celebrate and pose for a team photo. Both teams will now move on to a new challenge as Ireland welcome Afghanistan for a five-match T20I series starting the 9th of August. As for South Africa, they move their attention back on to England and gear up for the Test series starting on the 17th of August. Hope you enjoyed our coverage, until next time. Cheers!
David Miller, the captain of South Africa says that he is fit now and he had a back spasm during the first game. Adds that it is a good problem to have when everyone is performing and it is great and healthy to see the guys performing well. Says that it is really nice to contribute as a captain and he has seen a lot of different facets of the game while doing captaincy. Mentions that the last 18 months have been pretty good for them and certainly they will be a force in the upcoming T20 World cup but don't won't to get ahead of themselves.
The Irish skipper, Andy Balbirnie is down for a chat. He says that it wasn’t as close as it looks on the scoreboard and says that after the first innings onslaught they were always chasing the game. Says the spinners bowled well in the beginning and kept them ahead in the game but towards the end, South Africa batted well and scored freely using the small boundaries to their advantage. He claims that they were still happy at the halfway mark and were looking to come out positively and chase down the total. He says that his team can not wait to get back on the horse and plan for the future with the five games against Afghanistan and the World Cup to look forward to.
Reeza Hendricks is the PLAYER OF THE SERIES for his exploits with the bat in both games. He says that the guys played pretty well today and he is happy to have contributed to the win. Adds that he tries to keep it as simple as possible and just play his game. Says that when setting a total, he tries to focus on taking it ball by ball and the end result will take care of itself.
Wayne Parnell (5 for 30) is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his fabulous bowling performance. He says he was trying to keep things simple and bowl to a plan. He feels that the credit actually goes to the batters who did well to get them to a good total. When asked about what they have been doing well recently he says that he knows it is a cliche but the answer is that they keep it simple and try doing what they are good at. Mentions how every teammates success is enjoyed by every other menber and it is good for the team that they have so many options. When asked if he was hoping for Lungi Ngidi to take the catch for his last wicket, he says that it was the other way as he was hoping for Ngidi would get a wicket towards the end so that he could become the fastest South African to 50 T20I wickets.
The Presentation ceremony...
Earlier in the game, Andy Balbirnie won the toss and opted to bowl first which seemed like a good decision as they once again got de Kock out for a low score. However, throughout the South African innings, the Irish bowlers were found guilty of conceding multiple boundaries in one over. Gareth Delany and Josh Little though were excellent, conceding a run-a-ball or less. Contributions right throughout the order apart from de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen got the visitors to an above-par total. During the run chase though, Ireland kept on losing wickets in a bunch and this never allowed them to get any momentum into their innings. Riding on Parnell's fifer, the proteas strolled to a series victory.
Even though the Proteas didn't bat particularly well, they did find the fence with regularity and they have now done the same with the wickets while bowling. Wayne Parnell gave them a dream start, picking up two wickets in the second over of the innings and he then came back in later on to pick up a five-wicket haul, a rare feat in this format. The spinners were brilliant too and Dwaine Pretorius got wickets at the right times. Everyone contributed with the ball and even though they couldn't quite wrap up proceedings in style, it was a thoroughly professional performance in the field from the Proteas.
Ireland knew heading into the break that the wicket wasn't a 180-run plus wicket and they had given away a few if not many extra runs with the ball. And, they once again got off on the wrong foot as their skipper departed really cheaply. One wicket became two and then three inside the Powerplay even after some brute force shown by Paul Stirling. Harry Tector showed a bit of consistency and stitched together a stand with Curtis Campher but once Campher fell, Ireland folded like a pack of cards until Barry McCarthy showed some fight and took the opposition bowlers to the cleaners. McCarthy brought the margin of defeat to under 50 runs but Ireland have still suffered a heavy loss.
This has been a totally dominant performance from the Proteas. They have made short work of a long Irish batting order and have sealed the series 2-0! There was a bit of a delay in bundling out the opposition but they have been the better team by a country mile.
In over# 19
0W
1
1
1
1lb
Dwaine Pretorius 33/3(3.5)
18.5
W
OUT! CAUGHT! Aiden Markram is not dropping this one and Barry McCarthy's cameo comes to an end! Dwaine Pretorius continues bowling short and angles the ball into the batter, Barry McCarthy pulls hard but does not time this well as it floats towards deep mid-wicket. Aiden Markram takes a good catch running to his right and makes it look really easy! That brings an end to Ireland's innings and they have lost by 44 runs.
18.4
1
This is short as well and follows the batter as he looks to make room down leg. Josh Little slashes at this and hits it to long on for a single.
Keshav Maharaj seems to have injured his knee as he went in for the catch and seems to be struggling out there. The physio is out on the field to have a look, hope he is fine. Everything seems fine and we are good to continue.
18.3
1
DROPPED! The game should have been over! Dwaine Pretorius bangs this in short and outside off, Barry McCarthy comes down the wicket and skies the ball toward long on. Keshav Maharaj gets under this one and misses a sitter. Hits his knees as it goes through his palms and he is down in pain.
18.2
1
Dwaine Pretorius bowls this on a good length and angling into the pads, Josh Little flicks this towards deep square leg for a single.
18.1
1lb
Dwaine Pretorius goes full and angling down leg, Barry McCarthy goes to swing and misses. Hits his pads and rolls towards short third man for a leg bye.
In over# 18
0
1
6
0
0
0
Lungi Ngidi 14/1(3)
17.6
.
Good length, outside off and slower in pace, Little looks to guide it past the keeper but misses.