Captain Aiden Markram led from the front with an undefeated 82 as South Africa crushed the West Indies by nine wickets in Ahmedabad on Thursday, virtually guaranteeing a spot in the T20 World Cup semi-finals.
Markram and Quinton de Kock put up 95 for the first wicket to lay the stage for a resounding victory after the West Indies rallied from 83/7 to score 176/8. With 23 balls remaining, South Africa chased down the target scoring 177/1. In the end, Ryan Rickleton was not out on 45.
South Africa defeated pre-tournament favorites India by 76 runs in the Super Eights, becoming them the only team undefeated in the competition. South Africa will advance to the final four if India defeat Zimbabwe in Chennai later Thursday.
Additionally, it will make Sunday’s match between India and the West Indies in Kolkata a winner-take-all contest for the last semi-final spot.
Markram struck four sixes and seven fours in reaching 50 off 27 balls.
In a completely dominating exhibition of batsmanship, Rickleton smashed two sixes in his 28-ball innings and De Kock scored 47 off 24 balls with four sixes.
After an early collapse, the West Indies needed a record eighth-wicket partnership from Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd to reach 176/8.
Together, they put on 89, the biggest eighth-wicket stand in T20 international history, when their team was in serious difficulty at 83/7. Shepherd scored 52 from 37 balls, including four sixes, and was undefeated. Holder scored 49 from 31 balls with three maximums before being run out off the penultimate ball of the innings.
Both sides had won five straight games in the T20 World Cup going into the encounter. Four of South Africa’s five games have taken place in Ahmedabad, and captain Aiden Markram was quick to choose to bowl after winning the toss.
Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj bowled the opening over, and the West Indies took 17 runs off it. When skipper Shai Hope (16) edged his second ball to keeper Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada’s arrival stopped their attack.
Corbin Bosch dropped Shimron Hetmyer at mid-on on the subsequent delivery, but he only lasted two more before miscuing to midwicket, where Maharaj caught him. In his first over, Lungi Ngidi got into the act when Roston Chase chopped on two balls after Brandon King edged to De Kock on 21.
The West Indies had fallen from 29/0 after two overs to 43/4 after four. From his four overs, Ngidi took 3/30, Rabada 2/2, and Bosch 2/31.
