New Delhi [India], September 14 (ANI): Former South Africa's batting sensation AB de Villiers attributed the Proteas' struggles in the 2nd T20 against England to their inability to effectively bowl 'cutters', which he believes were the most challenging deliveries to hit on the Nottingham pitch.

England stormed back in style to level the three-match T20I series against South Africa, posting a mammoth 304/2 in 20 overs before skittling the visitors for just 158 in 16.1 overs. The hosts won by a record 146 runs, their biggest victory margin in T20Is, and set up a decider in Nottingham on Sunday.

'There's that one 304 for two monumental total. I think we just sort of woke up a little bit late there with the ball in hand. Didn't realise in that first 10 overs that cutters are actually the hardest ball to hit. 304 for two, and it's game over because their bowlers would have sat on the side and they would have watched that last six or seven overs where then only the Proteas started to bowl some cutters and realised hold on, there's your delivery for the day,' AB de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.

De Villiers believed England knew precisely how to bowl in the second innings, and there are no excuses for South Africa as they kept pace on pitching it up the whole time.

'England miles ahead there, knowing exactly what to bowl in that second innings. No excuses for South Africa. They're all experienced players, most of them at least, and should be quicker to adapt to conditions, and they just kept pace on pitching it up the whole time. Ball flying all over the park and never really went to those fast grippers into the deck, which was the go-to delivery for the day,' he added.

England's 304/2 now stands at the top, eclipsing India's 297/6 against Bangladesh in Hyderabad in 2024 and 283/1 against South Africa in Johannesburg the same year.

'England obviously prepared for that and made it really tough for our batters who consistently had to look for boundaries with that tough delivery, the cutter, and if you're going to do that, you're going to lose wickets, which they ended up doing. The only sort of blessing in a way is we lost with four overs to spare still. So had we strung together some partnership, maybe partnerships, maybe we would have got to like a 250 and it would have been an okay loss in a way,' he concluded.

England's dominance with the bat saw them shatter multiple records. Their 304/2 was their highest ever total in T20 internationals, surpassing the 267/3 against West Indies in Tarouba in 2023, and also marked their first time breaching the 300-run barrier in the format. It was the third-highest total in T20I history, behind Zimbabwe's 344/4 against Gambia in 2024 and Nepal's 314/3 against Mongolia in 2023. This was only the second instance of a Test-playing nation crossing 300.

The top scorer in South Africa's chase was Aiden Markram, who scored 41. Jofra Archer was the top bowler for England with 3/25. For South Africa, all the bowlers were hammered; Bjorn Fortuin was the sole wicket taker for the Proteas with 2/52. With the series now tied at 1-1, Nottingham will host the decider on Sunday. (ANI)