Calypso will play on in the semifinals
West Indies stutters but still has enough to beat South Africa
At the end of the 16th over of West Indies’ chase of a
moderate target (123) on a slow track at the Vidarbha Cricket
Association’s stadium, the on-field umpires called the groundstaff in to
clear some of the dew with long ropes. While the groundstaff went about
their job, the South African players got into a quick huddle.
With
24 runs to defend off as many deliveries in what was virtually a
must-win affair for his team, the Proteas’ skipper Faf du Plessis had
every reason to give one last charge against a fancied Caribbean unit.
Thanks to leggie Imran Tahir’s twin strikes in the following over and an
outstanding over by David Wiese, South Africa clawed its way back into
the game.
However, Carlos Brathwaite’s big hit over
cow corner in the last over ensured West Indies didn’t mess up the chase
and secured a place in the semifinals.
South Africa
had to overcome the demons of the Nagpur pitch to put on a sizeable
total. But Hashim Amla’s unnecessary run out in the opening over pegged
it back and even before the halfway stage, it had lost half the side for
47 on the board.
The West Indian medium pacers used
the cutters effectively, while the specialist spinners, Samuel Badree
and Sulieman Benn, continued to impress on wickets that were suitable
for them. To add to that, Chris Gayle, rolling his arm over for the
first time in this tournament, was equally effective.
It
resulted in Quinton de Kock and David Wiese having to rebuild the
innings in the middle overs. Just as the duo seemed to be getting into
the groove, de Kock played an inexplicable scoop off Andre Russell, and
missed it to see the stumps blinking. That meant South Africa’s hopes of
setting a target of around 140 were up in the air. Instead, it had to
settle for a total of 122 for eight.
With only two
specialist spinners in South Africa’s ranks, and Chris Morris and Kagiso
Rabada lacking variation, all that the West Indies had to do was bat
sensibly. Despite Rabada getting through Gayle’s defence in the opening
over and Andre Fletcher being run out off a direct hit by Rilee Rossouw
in the Power Play, Johnson Charles and Marlon Samuels displayed
risk-free batting in the middle overs.
However, Tahir
and Wiese’s exploits left the West Indies needing 20 runs off the last
two overs. The close finish ensured that a near-packed Jamtha stadium,
the biggest turnout for a non-India match in World Twenty20, had their
moneys worth despite not seeing an AB special or a Gayle storm.
RSA 122/8 (20.0 Ovs)
WI 123/7 (19.4 Ovs)
West Indies won by 3 wkts
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