South Africa advanced to the tournament’s knockout stage after winning yet another close match, South Africa in semi-final without a loss.
They won with five balls remaining, and they battled a resilient West Indies team that refused to give up.
In the South Africa vs West Indies match, the Proteas chose to field first at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, controlled the majority of the match despite the close conclusion.
Shai Hope was out for a first-ball duck when Markram gave Marco Jansen the new ball and bowled quickly. The captain was equally successful in the next over, luring Nicholas Pooran to ski one down the ground, and it was well held by Jansen.
With a Mayers maximum on the final ball of the sixth over, the Windies reached 47/2 at the six-over point.
In the eighth, Jansen and Kagiso Rabada collided awkwardly on the rope while trying to take the catch, making another Mayers six costly for the Proteas. Play was stopped for a number of minutes, and Jansen seemed to take the brunt of the altercation.
Rabada stayed on the field but hadn’t yet been utilized as a bowler, while the all-rounder was removed for additional evaluation.
Living dangerously, West Indies were able to reach 62/2 off 10 overs thanks to the combined efforts of Mayers and Chase, who both scored more runs per over than a run-a-ball and turned the tide back in the hosts’ favor.
But when Mayers was out for 35 off 34 balls at the end of the 12th over, the fun was over. With his departure, South Africa took back control and added more wickets.
After Sherfane Rutherford (0 off 4) and Rovman Powell (1 off 2) in successive overs, Tabraiz Shamsi made the crucial breakthrough by dismissing Chase (52 off 42) to begin over 16.
Andre Russell had to hit two massive sixes in the 17th over to lead his team to a competitive total. However, Russell wrote his own death sentence with a hasty, to take quick single attempt.
Nortje’s run-out of him, just short of his crease, was a fielding move that certainly made up for his earlier error.
In the 18th over, Rabada did eventually try to bowl and removed Akeal Hosein with a neat caught and bowled dismissal.
On a reasonable surface, the West Indies reached 135/8.
Quinton de Kock appeared hurried right away, needing an over and seven to win.
The second over was bowled by Andre Russell, who caught Reeza Hendricks behind with a faint leg side edge. De Kock’s pivotal removal, which left him holed at deep backward square leg, marked the end of his over.
Play was abruptly stopped by the rain. Following a long interval, Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method removed one over from the powerplay and changed the target to 123 off 17 overs.
Two consecutive boundaries from Tristan Stubbs in the fifth over helped the Proteas reach 41/2 at the five-over mark.
However, Gudakesh Motie’s costly over—four boundaries for 20 runs—turned the tide back in South Africa’s advantage. Stubbs and Heinrich Klaason appeared fully capable of tackling the given task.
Afterwards, Joseph eliminated Klaason (22 off 10), but the presence of Stubbs became increasingly important. Until the right-handed pitcher attempted to go over long on, the Proteas appeared to have a comfortable situation. However, he was out for 29 runs off of 27.
Roston Chase had a score of 6/2 after two overs, which provided the West Indies with a slender opportunity at the very end. Following Joseph’s bowling of the third-to-last over, the requirement was raised to 13 runs off of 12
The two players who had earlier collided in the field, Jansen and Rabada, were at the crease hoping to win the match, which was once again on the verge of disaster. Obed McCoy took the field to bowl the final over after a critical boundary on the last ball made the requirement five from six.
And Jansen gave the first delivery his all, despite the intense tension that existed in the middle. With five balls remaining, the all-round player smashed one back over McCoy’s head, clearing the rope and securing the Proteas’ victory.
The Windies were never willing to give up, and South Africa handled a run chase that at times appeared easy. Nevertheless, there was a strong element to the shot that sealed the victory, guaranteeing that South Africa advances to the semi-finals undefeated—seven from seven—and into the Final Four.