West Indies Power Over South Africa in Opening T20 International

West Indies Defeat South Africa by Seven Wickets

Nicholas Pooran top scored for the West Indies with 65 not out vs South Africa

TAROUBA, Trinidad, CMC – West Indies, on the back of half-centuries from Nicholas Pooran and Shai Hope, pulled off the highest successful run chase at the Brian Lara Stadium in defeating South Africa by seven wickets in the opening T20 International in Tarouba, Trinidad, on Friday.

South Africa managed only 174 for seven in their 20 overs, after which the West Indies chased down the runs, scoring 176 for three in 17.5 overs.

The Match in Brief

After asking the visitors to take the first strike following a rain delay, the host seamers ran through the Proteas top order to leave them in tatters at 42 for five in the seventh over.

Matthew Forde started the demolition job when he had opener Ryan Rickelton caught behind for four. The Barbadian then had captain Aiden Markram caught at mid-on for 14 before Shamar Joseph got in by removing Reeza Hendricks for four.

Joseph then picked up his second wicket when he had Rassie van der Dussen caught by Pooran for five before left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein had Donovan Ferreira caught for eight.

The South Africans would recover thanks to a sixth-wicket partnership of 71 runs off 50 balls between Tristan Stubbs and Patrick Kruger. Stubbs also shared a seventh-wicket stand of 60 off 25 balls with Bjorn Fortuin, giving the innings some impetus.

West Indies Chase

In reply, the West Indies wasted little time getting in on the act as the new opening pair of Shai Hope and Alick Athanaze blazed their way to an 84-run opening stand.

The left-handed Athanaze had hit three maximums and two boundaries in his score of 40, but he was undone in the eighth over and was caught off seamer Ottniel Baartman. Pooran joined Hope, and they continued in the same vain and added 54 runs for the second wicket. Pooran mainly liked Nandre Burger, as he took the left-arm seamer for four straight sixes in the 12th over.

In the meantime, Hope would bring up his third T20I half-century, which came off 34 balls. He would fall soon after to Baartman for 51, at 138 for two in the 14th over.

Despite captain Rovman Powell falling for just seven runs, Pooran shifted gears and brought up his half-century off just 20 balls. In the end, he would finish with seven sixes and two fours in his unbeaten 65, with Roston Chase, who hit the winning runs, ending on four not out.

Captains’ Reaction

Captain Powell praised his team’s performance with both ball and bat, which got the team off to a winning start.

“I think it’s always good to go 1-0 up. We bowled well in the powerplay, and though we let them off a bit, we were good with the bat,” said Powell.

Losing captain, Markram lamented his team’s lack of runs, ultimately costing them the game.

“We saw the ball coming on well later in the evening, and because of that, we probably came up a few runs short. We would’ve liked 20 more runs.”

Conclusion

The West Indies’ victory in the opening T20 International sets the tone for a exciting series against South Africa. With their strong batting performance, they have sent a clear message that they are not going to back down without a fight.