In the opening T20I on Wednesday at the Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol, South Africa was defeated by England by 41 runs despite Tristan Stubbs' exhilarating 72.
After being forced to bat first, England compiled a record score of 234 for six in an exhilarating run-fest. Their innings featured 20 sixes. In addition to Moeen Ali's 18-ball fifty and Dawid Malan's 23-ball 43, Jonny Bairstow shone with a score of 90 from 53 balls.
The tourists then looked to be in great trouble in their pursuit of 235 after losing crucial wickets early on in the chase with just Reeza Hendricks shining (57 off 33 balls, 9 fours, 1 six). Stubbs, who made his international debut against India in the previous T20I series but was unable to bat in either of the two games he participated in, nevertheless displayed impressive boundary-hitting prowess by smacking eight sixes and two fours in an exhilarating 72 off just 28 balls.
He achieved the second-fastest T20I half century for South Africa along the way, but ultimately succumbed as the run rate soared and the Proteas finished on 193 for eight.
In addition to their batting, South Africa also struggled with their catching, which allowed England to score more runs. From the bowling assault, only bowler Lungi Ngidi stood out with a respectable five for 39, his first career five-wicket haul, which began with the dismissals of Jason Roy and Jos Buttler during the power play.
In his innings of 90 off 53 balls (three fours and eight sixes), the hot-shot Bairstow was dismissed many times, while Moeen Ali slammed 52 off 18 balls (two fours, six sixes). In the latter's innings, he scored the Englishman's quickest 50 ever on a global platform. In the final seven overs, the pair scored 114 runs, helping England reach a challenging total.
Before Hendricks and Heinrich Klaasen (20) got the innings underway, the Proteas lost Quinton de Kock (2) and the returning Rilee Rossouw (4) in the first two overs. Following their swift run of falls, both Stubbs and interim captain David Miller (8) fell quickly.
The fit-again all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo (22) took over after the skipper left and continued to turn over the strike, enabling the 19-year-old Stubbs to reach his fifty in just 19 balls. However, the 18th over of the chase proved to be crucial when Chris Jordan gave up only three runs to put an end to all hope and Stubbs left at the start of the penultimate over to give England the victory in the first T20I series.
South Africa will have the chance to make immediate amends and square the series at 1-1 when they face England in the second T20I at Cardiff on Thursday.
Brief Scores: England 234-6 in 20 overs (Jonny Bairstow 90, Moeen Ali 52; Lungi Ngidi 5-39) beat South Africa 193-8 in 20 overs (Tristan Stubbs 72, Reeza Hendricks 57; Richard Gleeson 3-51, Reece Topley 2-29) by 41 runs