South Africa rallied to reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup after beating West Indies by three wickets in the DLS in Antigua on Monday. The rain-interrupted match ended with Marco Jansen hitting a crucial six off the first ball of the final over to take South Africa to a revised target of 123 and level with England at the top of Group 2.
Tabraiz Shamsi played a key role in the Proteas’ performance, taking 3-27 to help restrict West Indies to 135/8 before rain interrupted play. South Africa chased down the revise
d target with five balls to spare. Events: West Indies vs South Africa Roston Chase took three late wickets to give West Indies hope but South Africa kept their composure and finished the game in dramatic fashion.The last two places in the semi-finals will be decided on Monday when India play Australia in St Lucia and Afghanistan play Bangladesh in St Vincent, concluding the Super Eights. T20 World Cup Schedule | points table | statistics South Africa, who decided to bat first after winning the toss,
enjoyed immediate success. Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran were dismissed in the first two overs, leaving West Indies struggling at 5/2. Kyle Mayers, a late addition to the team as an injury replacement, teamed up with Roston Chase to stabilize the innings for a vital third wicket stand of 81.
Chase got a scare when dismissed in the 11th over and Mayers survived an lbw review before Shamsi broke his position in the 12th over, Mayers falling to Tristan Stubbs at deep cover for 35.
Chase scored 52 before being bowled out by Shamsi and Sherfane Rutherford for 0. Andre Russell enjoyed great success, scoring 15 goals before being eliminated. South Africa expected the West Indies to put up a significant bowling effort to defend the whole. Russell set the tone by catching Riza Hendricks’ first ball behind the legs and then removing Quinton de Kock for 12 in the same over.
The crowd at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium was buzzing with excitement, but the mood changed when rain forced a 90-minute delay. Resuming at 15-2, Aiden Markram and Stubbs took the score to 42 before Alzarri Joseph struck again and removed Markram for 18 with his second delivery.
Later, matching Josef’s pace, Heinrich Klaasen scored 22 runs by the eighth over. Despite this, none of the other West Indies bowlers were able to overpower South Africa, who only needed a match at that stage. Chase’s entry in the 12th inning resulted in David Miller being ejected for a fourth down.
He later eliminated Stubbs for 29 and Keshav Maharaj for 2 to take the game to 17, ending in the final. In a tense moment, Jansen hit a crucial six off the first ball of the last over to ensure victory for South Africa. The win ensured the Proteas remained undefeated and advanced to the semi-finals.
