NEW DELHI: South Africa produced a clinical performance to crush England by seven wickets in the opening one-day international at Headingley on Tuesday. The contest was effectively decided inside the first half of the day, as the visitors bundled England out for a paltry 131 before racing to victory with almost 30 overs to spare.Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj (4/22) and all-rounder Wiaan Mulder (3/33) ripped through England’s fragile batting line-up after captain Temba Bavuma opted to field under heavy clouds in Leeds.England’s innings never recovered after slipping to 82/2. From there, the last eight wickets tumbled for just 49 runs. Debutant Sonny Baker endured a nightmare introduction to international cricket, falling first ball before conceding 76 runs in his seven overs. Only opener Jamie Smith (54) offered resistance, with Jos Buttler (15) the next-best contributor.South Africa’s chase was led by a blistering innings from Aiden Markram, who smashed a 23-ball half-century and went on to score 86, laced with eight fours and two sixes. He took a particular liking to Baker, dispatching the young pacer all around the ground. Markram eventually fell to a superb diving catch by Smith off Adil Rashid (3/26), but by then the target was in sight.Rashid gave the Headingley crowd a brief lift, striking twice in two balls with the scores level. However, Dewald Brevis ended any hopes of late drama, launching the next delivery for six to seal the win in emphatic fashion.The result brought Harry Brook’s six-match unbeaten run as England’s white-ball captain to a shuddering halt. England also paid the price for lack of preparation, having had no 50-over cricket ahead of this series, while South Africa arrived buoyed by a 2-1 triumph in Australia.Despite the absence of pace spearheads Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, the Proteas showed their depth, with Maharaj underlining his world No.1 ODI bowler status by closing the innings with successive strikes – trapping Rashid lbw before bowling Baker to finish things off in the 25th over.The three-match series now moves to Lord’s, where England will look to regroup on Thursday.
