ODI champions England eyeing the Int'l T20I crown

Cape Town:A win in the third T20I against South Africa on Tuesday would 

catapult England to the No.1 spot alongside Australia in the MRF Tyres ICC Men's T20I 

Team Rankings.

England, who are currently ranked No.2, are just one rating point behind Australia. With victory in the second T20I at Paarl, the visitors bagged the series win against South Africa with a game to spare. The latest success means that the Eoin Morgan-led outfit have further extended their undefeated run in T20I series, which began in October 2018.

One of the chief factors for their streak ? which includes victories over West Indies, New 

Zealand and Australia has been their ability to close out games from various challenging 

positions.

In the second T20I, they were faced with somewhat tricky situations in a relatively modest 

chase, but where it was Jonny Bairstow's explosive ability that won them the first game, 

Dawid Malan called upon his more measured approach to help ride the tide in the next.

South Africa will take heart from the fact that they have challenged England in both games 

so far, but will be aware that to take down the visitors in the final game they will need to serve 

up a more complete team performance.

With the series closed out, England may consider testing their bench strength in the final 

game. The likes of Moeen Ali, Mark Wood and Sam Billings could get a look in.South Africa captain Quinton de Kock said,  "The group are learning. Every game is 

different, every stadium has a different feel. We need to start learning fast."

England batsman Dawid Malan said, "If we can get a bit of momentum going, and keep 

on winning series and these types of tight games, that will put this squad in good stead for 

the ICC Men's T20 World Cup."(UNI)