Needing under seven an over for the win, Quinton de Kock looked in a hurry from the outset. Lightning in the area may have been a factor, making the Proteas chase a fast in case of weather-affected finish.
Andre Russell bowled the second over, which began by finding a faint leg side edge to have Reeza Hendricks caught behind. His over then finished with the crucial removal of de Kock who holed out at deep backward square leg.
Suddenly, the rain arrived and play stopped – another three overs were required for the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method to come into effect. After a lengthy break, DLS revised the target to 123 off 17 overs, which also removed one over off the Powerplay.
Par score at the five-over mark was 37 runs and the Proteas arrived there at 41/2, thanks to back-to-back boundaries from Tristan Stubbs in the fifth over.
Alzarri Joseph struck with just his second ball, forcing a mistimed drive from Markram (18 off 15), providing the hosts growing belief.
But an expensive over from Gudakesh Motie, four boundaries for 20 runs, tipped the scales back in South Africa’s favour. Stubbs and Heinrich Klaason looked firmly up to the task at hand.