South Africa vs England: Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla keep Proteas in hunt in third ODI

England 318-8 South Africa 319-3 (SA win by seven wickets): Joe Root century in vain as openers plunder indifferent bowling to thwart England hopes of securing early series win

England batsman Joe Root (Getty)

England were denied an early one-day series victory after South Africa, guided by brilliant hundreds from Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock, chased down a record total on this ground at Centurion to keep the series alive.

Joe Root looked to have put Eoin Morgan’s side in a winning position when hitting a career-best ODI score of 125. His seventh century in this format helped the tourists post an imposing 318 for 8 after choosing to bat first.

However, Amla and De Kock’s first-wicket stand of 239, a record for South Africa against England, made light work of that total to leave this series poised at 2-1 to England with two matches left.

Victory in Friday’s fourth ODI in Johannesburg will secure an impressive series win for the tourists but South Africa will be buoyant after prevailing here with 22 balls and seven wickets to spare. If they can pull off another victory, the decider will be in Cape Town on Sunday.

Morgan rightly laid the blame for this defeat at the feet of his bowlers, saying: “We didn’t bowl enough threatening deliveries. We let two very experienced batsmen get themselves in and they took advantage.”

Root came to the crease in the sixth over with England on 35 for 1 after wicketkeeper De Kock had run out Jason Roy. He finally departed in the 44th, the victim of another run out following a mix-up with Ben Stokes.

Root had shared a 125-run partnership with Alex Hales before Kagiso Rabada took two wickets in four balls to leave the tourists on 162 for 3 in the 27th over.

Hales was the first of the pace bowler’s victims, top-edging to fine leg for 65. Then the brilliantly in-form Jos Buttler was out first ball, falling to a stunning catch by JP Duminy at leg gully. Buttler had scored a match-winning hundred and a fearless 48 to help England win the first two games of the series.

Root more than made up for that surprise, reaching three figures in 95 balls including 10 fours and five sixes. The Yorkshireman also shared an 82-run stand for the fifth wicket with Stokes, who scored his second half-century of the series in 33 balls.

Yet the Durham all-rounder and Chris Jordan both fell to Kyle Abbott in successive deliveries to leave England on 291 for 8 in the 48th over.

Adil Rashid saw off the hat-trick ball and with the help of David Willey he finished the innings with a flourish, the pair hitting 27 off the final 15 balls to push the total beyond the 300-mark.

The previous record successful run-chase on this ground was the 300 that West Indies scored to beat South Africa in 2004.

But De Kock and Amla made light of that statistic, their record stand ending in the 37th over and leaving their side needing a mere 80 runs to win off 79 balls with nine wickets in hand.

That set up the victory, leaving the hosts needing 145 to win from 120 balls with, crucially, all 10 wickets in hand.

De Kock had shown how dangerous he is in this format in the opening match of the series, scoring an unbeaten 138 in his side’s defeat in Bloemfontein when he had threatened to help the home side chase down a target of 400 before rain intervened.

The keeper only turned 23 last December but he raced to his 10th ODI hundred and was in superb touch again. He had a most accomplished partner in Amla, who shrugged off a poor start to the series by registering his own 22nd hundred in his 129th ODI.

The lack of genuine leaders in England’s one-day bowling department has proved one area of concern despite their renaissance in this format since the debacle at the World Cup a year ago.

That weakness was brutally exposed here despite the consolatory scalps of De Kock and David Wiese.

Both fell to spin, Rashid removing De Kock for 135 – off 117 balls with 16 fours and four sixes – when he picked out Root at mid-off. Wiese was then bowled attempting to reverse sweep Moeen.

By the time Amla eventually fell to Jordan for 127, just eight runs were required and the hosts needed three more balls to wrap up victory.