South Africa bounced back from their defeat against Australia with a thumping eight-wicket win over West Indies in the Group 1 clash of T20 World Cup 2012 Super 12. Aiden Markram, who struck a 25-ball half-century, and Rassie van der Dussen added an unbeaten 83 for the third wicket as the Proteas grabbed their first win in the tournament. Opening batsman Reeza Hendricks played a valuable knock of 39.
After being asked to bat first, West Indies posted 143/8 in their 20 overs thanks to Evin Lewis’ fifty and Kieron Pollard’s quickfire 26. Dwaine Pretorius grabbed two wickets in the final over to clinch a three-fer, while Keshav Maharaj made two crucial inroads in the match. Pacer Anrich Nortje had another outstanding outing. He cleaned up Andre Russell with an excellent yorker and conceded just 14 runs off his four overs.
Evin Lewis the lone bright spark
West Indies captain Kieron Pollard would be disappointed as his side lost their way after an excellent start. Lewis went after the South Africa bowlers after West Indies made just six runs in the first three overs. He punished a wayward Kagiso Rabada with a four and a six and slapped Markram for consecutive sixes. The spinners Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, too, struggled to keep the left-handed batsmen at bay.
At the other end, Lendl Simmons was unable to get going. When Lewis brought up his half-century, his fellow opening partner managed just 12 runs from 27 balls. Rabada put him out of the misery in the 14th over. The loss of wickets of Lewis, Pooran, and Simmons in the space of 17 balls affected West Indies’ scoring rate. Pollard and Chris Gayle put Tabraiz Shamsi to the sword by clearing the ropes twice in his third over. However, with three overs remaining in the innings, Pretorius sent the ‘Universe Boss’ back to the pavilion for 12.
The Caribbean side lost a flurry of wickets towards the end of the innings. Nortje dismissed Russell, while Shimron Hetmyer found himself short of the crease trying to complete a second run. Pollard and Hayden Walsh fell to Pretorius in the final over. West Indies lost seven wickets and could score only 57 runs in the last eight overs of their innings.
A solid run chase
Quinton de Kock-less South Africa were in control of their run chase despite losing Temba Bavuma in the opening over. Russell’s direct hit from mid-on saw the Proteas skipper, who tried to take a quick single, depart for just one run. Meanwhile, Hendricks was determined to make the most of his opportunity. The 32-year-old went after West Indies bowlers in the powerplay, scoring 30 off 19 balls. Hetmyer took a fantastic catch, given not out by the on-field umpire, to dismiss Hendricks and put an end to the half-century stand.
The new man Markram took Walsh, Dwayne Bravo, and Ravi Rampaul to the cleaners. Van der Dussen, who scored 30 off 42 balls, struck consecutive fours off Bravo. With 23 runs needed from 24 balls, Markram hit two fours in Russell’s third over to put the game beyond West Indies. He clobbered ‘Dre Russ’ for a six to reach his half-century in the 19th over. A single off the next delivery sealed two points for South Africa.
West Indies will face Bangladesh in a must-win game on Friday. South Africa will be up against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
Player of the Match – Aiden Markram
Markram produced another stellar performance in a Proteas t-shirt. He top-scored for South Africa in the second successive match and had some success with the ball too. Against Australia, he held the innings together with a 36-ball 40. However, on Tuesday, Markram ripped apart the bowling attack. He registered his first six in just the fifth ball and hammered three more maximums in the match.
Top Fantasy Points scorers
Lewis finished the match as the leading fantasy points scorer with 83 points. The dashing batsman, who registered his tenth T20I fifty, picked up 12 points from sixes alone. Markram bagged 81 points and came second. Apart from scoring a half-century, the South African bowled a maiden over too. The top two most picked players, Rabada and Nortje, managed to pick up only 37 and 35 points, respectively.
The Top Fantasy XI: E Lewis – 83 pts, A Markram – 81 pts, D Pretorius – 79 pts, R van der Dussen – 58 pts, R Hendricks – 57 pts, K Maharaj – 56 pts, K Rabada – 37 pts, A Nortje – 35 pts, K Pollard – 34 pts, A Hosein – 29 pts, D Miller – 20 pts
Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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