West Indies beat South Africa by 8 wickets
West Indies beat South Africa by 8 wickets in third T20I, win series 3-0 TAROABA, Trinidad – Nicholas Pooran’s whirlwind 35 off 13 balls helped West Indies beat South Africa by eight wickets in the rain-curtailed third Twenty20 International on Tuesday to win the series 3-0.
The start of play was delayed by an hour due to rain and it rained again in the fifth over of South Africa’s innings, reducing the match to 13 overs per innings. South Africa were 23-0 when rain began and Tristan Stubbs hit 40 off 15 balls to help the visitors reach 108-4 after a slow start. Stubbs hit five fours and three sixes in his 38-run innings. He finished the series with 144 runs at a strike-rate of 178.
Pooran almost matched him and hit two fours and four sixes. When Pooran was dismissed on the fifth ball of the fourth over, West Indies were 60-2 and won with 22 balls to spare. Shai Hope scored an unbeaten 42 off 24 balls and Shimron Hetmyer scored 31 off 17 balls and shared an unbroken 56-run partnership for the third wicket.
Obviously we wanted to come on top. We wanted to win the series 3-0,” West Indies captain Roston Chase said in a television interview. Before the match, after everyone had spoken in the team meeting, I just said to the boys get me the win because you want to get off to a good start and I just want to thank the boys for their support and the way they played with their hearts today.
West Indies eventually won the toss
No overs were lost when rain delayed the toss. West Indies eventually won the toss and decided to bowl given the threat of rain ahead. South Africa started cautiously in humid conditions and the first boundary of their innings did not come until the fourth over, hit by Ryan Rickelton off Matthew Ford. The first six of the innings came off the very next ball.
Rain resumed and the players had to stay off the field for 70 minutes, leaving South Africa in a spot of bother. Reeza Hendricks was dismissed three balls after play resumed, but that brought Stubbs to the crease and he did his best to take South Africa to a competitive score.
Stubbs scored 6, 4, 6 off consecutive balls in the 11th over bowled by McCoy
Stubbs scored 6, 4, 6 off consecutive balls in the 11th over bowled by Obed McCoy and 4, 6, 4 off the final over bowled by Ford. He was dismissed with two balls remaining in the innings. Pooran then came up with a brilliant cameo off 13 balls to put West Indies in a winning position. He finished the innings at a strike rate of 269.
Hope hit four sixes in his innings and Hetmyer hit four fours and a six as West Indies registered a stunning win. West Indies had beaten South Africa 3-0 in the Twenty20 series ahead of this year’s T20 World Cup, which it hosted along with the United States, and now it has again thrashed South Africa. But in the meantime, South Africa knocked West Indies out of the World Cup.
We suffered a lot due to rain
Today’s match was quite difficult. Obviously we suffered a lot due to rain, South Africa captain Aiden Markram said. The conditions were quite changeable throughout the game as well. I think we faced difficult conditions. Having said that I think there are many areas in which we can improve as a team to play better cricket in difficult conditions.
Akeal Hosein and Matthew Ford managed to curb the scoring rate with a few calm overs in the beginning. Ford tried to put pressure on Ryan Rickelton in his second over by making him make room, but the batsman managed to hit across the line and hit a four and a six. Rain arrived a few balls later, halting play for an hour and resulting in the loss of seven overs for each side.
Had pulled Fabian Allen
When play resumed after the delay, Reeza Hendricks was out, as he pulled a short ball from the left-arm spinner to Fabian Allen at deep midwicket. Rickelton survived the next over, as he was dropped at cover. The left-hander won the matchup against Gudakesh Moti and slog-sweeped him for a six. Aiden Markram soon faced Moti and hit a four and a six in the 16-run over.
Conclusion
West Indies clinched the T20I series 3-0 with a comfortable 8-wicket win over South Africa in the third T20I at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Trinidad. The match was reduced to 13 overs due to rain, with Shai Hope’s 42* and brilliant knocks from Nicholas Pooran (35) and Shimron Hetmyer (31*) helping West Indies reach the target of 116 with 22 balls to spare. Tristan Stubbs top-scored on a difficult night for South Africa with a 15-ball 40.
