2ND ODI , ENGLAND Vs SOUTH AFRICA, LORD’S LONDON , 2025 HIGHLIGHTS : South Africa Pulled Thrilling Victory Against England And Claimed ODI Series By 0-2 .
South African batsman Matthew Breetzke’s dream run in ODI cricket also continued as he became the first player to score fifty or more in each of his first five ODIs. The 22-year-old achieved the feat in his team’s second ODI against England at Lord’s on Thursday. In the game, Breetzke went on to hit 85 off 77 balls, including seven fours and three sixes at a strike-rate in excess of 110. But a super delivery by pacer Jofra Archer compelled him to miss what would have been his second ODI ton. England surely lost a thrilling match by just five runs despite quick half-centuries from Jacob Bethell (58 off 40 balls) and Jos Buttler (61 off 51 balls), as South Africa won at Lord’s on Thursday. Moreover, this victory gave South Africa an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series and their first ODI series win in England since 1998 . South Africa Pulled Thrilling Victory Against England And Claimed ODI Series By 0-2 .
TOSS-
England won the toss and decided to bowl.
PLAYING XI-
England Squad:
Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook(c), Jos Buttler(wk), Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood
South Africa Squad:
Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Matthew Breetzke, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Corbin Bosch, Senuran Muthusamy, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi
SOUTH AFRICA-
Markram and Rickelton gave their side a fine start with a 73-run opening partnership, scored at almost run-a-ball. The pair were possibly a little too sedate in the early exchanges, but began to free their arms from the 10th over, when Saqib Mahmood served up a pair of overpitched deliveries that Rickelton was able to drive to the boundary as the South African openers brought up their half-century stand in that over. A more rigorous assault came a couple of overs later as Markram drove, pulled and punched Jofra Archer for three boundaries in a row.
Earnest Archer had the last laugh, though, as the impetus given by the openers was snatched away quickly. He had Rickelton and Temba Bavuma caught behind in consecutive overs, and Markram missed out on a half-century when he offered Adil Rashid a return catch to a slider, leaving the visitors 93 for 3 after the 19th over.
Breetzke and Stubbs, however, resurrected the innings with a magnificent 147-run stand for the fourth wicket. In doing so, Breetzke became the first player to score fifty-plus in his first five ODI innings. The pair were patient for a while and rotated the strike before Breetzke launched into Jacob Bethell in the 27th over. It was an outlier, though, in an otherwise cagy strategy. Adil Rashid was particularly hard to get away through the middle overs.
Surrey’s actual assault had to wait until the 10th over when 17 came from Will Jacks, largely due to Stubbs breaking loose.
Breetzke then took it out on Brydon Carse for his shorter lengths pulling him for a couple of boundaries and a six. Archer came back into the attack and had him lbw with 85. Later, Stubbs was also left high and dry in the miscommunication with Brevis a couple of overs later to suffer the same fate and give South Africa two new batsmen in the middle in the death overs.
Brevis atoned for his error with a breezy 20-ball 42, hitting Bethell and carse for sixes in successive overs. After his dismissal, it was Bosch’s turn to pick up late boundaries but down the other end, he kept losing partners. However, South Africa managed to bounce back from the top-order debacle and posted a challenging total.
ENGLAND-
Chasing a target of 331 runs, England suffered an early setback when opener Jamie Smith was dismissed behind the stumps on the very first delivery. While Joe Root provided initial momentum by attacking Lungi Ngidi and Nandre Burger, Ben Duckett’s difficulties prevented the home team from building essential acceleration. Maharaj eventually bowled him out for 14 runs during the 13th over.
This dismissal turned beneficial for England as Bethell and Root delivered both stability and scoring rate during the middle phase. Bethell attacked Keshav Maharaj aggressively, launching the left-arm spinner for one six and three fours in consecutive balls during the 19th over. The following over saw Root reach his 43rd ODI half-century – moving past Eoin Morgan’s record as England’s most prolific ODI run-scorer. Their third-wicket partnership yielded 77 runs from just 64 deliveries. Yet their quick departures pushed England backwards once more.
Still, before South Africa could capitalize on this advantage, Jos Buttler formed valuable partnerships with Harry Brook and Will Jacks, maintaining England’s position in the run chase through stands worth 69 and 40 runs with each partner.
But when Ngidi dismissed Buttler during the 43rd over, England’s batting collapsed. With the asking rate climbing near 10 runs per over, the tail-end batsmen faced intense pressure and lost wickets while attempting aggressive shots. Burger capitalized on this situation, claiming both Jacks and Brydon Carse among his victims.
Despite the continuing fall of wickets, Jofra Archer’s final surge maintained England’s hopes. He hammered a rapid 27 runs from 14 balls, reducing the requirement to seven runs from the final delivery before deflecting a good-length ball off the inside edge to short fine leg.
South Africa 330/8 in 50 overs (Matthew Breetzke 85, Tristan Stubbs 58; Jofra Archer 4-62, Adil Rashid 2-33) defeated England 325/9 in 50 overs (Jos Buttler 61, Joe Root 61; Nandre Burger 3-63, Keshav Maharaj 2-59) by 5 runs.