London: England lived up to the expectations of home fans as they launched their ICC World Cup 2019 campaign with a resounding 104-run victory over South Africa. While all-rounder Ben Stokes was the chief architect of the win, fast bowler Jofra Archer too impressed and proved batting legend Sachin Tendulkar right.

Match scorecard

At The Oval in London on Thursday (May 30), England posted 311/8 in 50 overs and then bowled out the Proteas for 207 all out 39.5 overs. Archer was the bowling hero with figures of 3/27 in seven overs with one maiden.

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The other highlight of the opening encounter was Stokes’s incredible one-handed catch in the deep which was hailed as one of the greatest of all time.

There was a lot of debate over 24-year-old Archer’s inclusion in the England squad for the World Cup. Finally, he made it to the 15-member line-up and in his very first match proved his worth.

Watch: Ben Stokes takes stunning catch

In a five-over opening burst, Archer stunned South Africa with pace and aggression and then returned in the second half of the innings to blunt any hope Faf du Plessis’ men had of an ambush at the end. Archer greeted South Africa with an all-too-familiar weapon, the short ball.

In the fourth over, Amla missed an attempted pull shot off one of Archer’s deliveries and was struck on the grille. He received on-field treatment and a new helmet arrived but Amla left the field, pointing to his forehead. He then underwent repeated Concussion Assessment Tests including computerised testing while his teammates tried to keep up with the required run-rate.

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Former India captain and leading run-getter in World Cup history, Tendulkar too had backed the Barbados-born fast bowler. During the lunch interval of the match, the Indian legend had picked three players that he would be watching out for. He chose Archer, Australia’s David Warner and Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan.

On Archer, Tendulkar told Star Sports, "I am looking forward to Jofra Archer bowling for England because I know, in crunch moments, England are always going to look at Jofra Archer to bowl those tight overs. Or if you need a breakthrough, you need Jofra Archer to come and give that breakthrough."

Tendulkar made his TV commentary debut in England-South Africa match and he would be mightily impressed with the way Archer bowled.