T20 World Cup 2024: West Indies vs South Africa, 50th Match – Who Said What?

West Indies vs South Africa. (Source – Getty Images)

In a thrilling encounter at North Sound, Antigua, South Africa edged out the West Indies by three wickets in the 50th match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Super Eights, Group 2.

Batting first, West Indies posted a total of 135/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Roston Chase was the standout performer with a solid 52 off 42 balls, supported by Kyle Mayers, who contributed 35 runs off 34 balls. However, West Indies struggled to build substantial partnerships, losing wickets at regular intervals. Tabraiz Shamsi was the pick of the South African bowlers, claiming three wickets for 27 runs, earning him the Player of the Match award. Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram, Keshav Maharaj, and Kagiso Rabada chipped in with a wicket each.

In response, South Africa had a revised target of 123 runs from 17 overs due to a rain interruption. The chase was not straightforward, as they lost wickets consistently. Quinton de Kock started aggressively with 12 runs off seven balls but fell early. Aiden Markram (18 off 15) and Tristan Stubbs (29 off 27) steadied the innings, while Heinrich Klaasen provided a quickfire 22 off ten balls. Despite a middle-order wobble, Marco Jansen’s crucial 21 not out off 14 balls guided South Africa home. Roston Chase was effective with the ball, taking three wickets for 12 runs, and Alzarri Joseph supported with two wickets for 25 runs.

Ultimately, South Africa reached 124/7 in 16.1 overs, securing a narrow victory by three wickets with five balls to spare. The win has secured the Proteas’ place in the semifinals, while hosts West Indies have now been knocked out of the tournament.

Also Check: T20 World Cup 2024 Points Table

West Indies vs South Africa, Match 50- Who Said What?

Tabraiz Shamsi, Player of the Match:

“I am sweating, i wasn’t even there (in the middle), but I was nervous, but that’s been the trait of the team in this tournament, always fighting till the end. We looked at Marco Jansen’s reaction, he seemed confident that it had crossed the ropes. Our supporters and staff would probably like bigger wins, but we need to take these performances going ahead. We’ve had a lot of chatter, I was backed by the coaching staff to work on my plans. The guys set things really well, we’re firing on all cylinders and looking forward to the next match. We’ve played well as a team, a complete team performance, there’s no pressure on anyone, we’re working well as a team. It’s a love affair between South Africa and the World Cups (on rain stopping play), but the boys were calm, we knew what we needed to do and there were no such crazy thoughts going around (on the chance of being eliminated).

Rovman Powell, Losing Captain:

“Credit to the boys for fighting till the end. As a batting group this is a performance we want to forget, we didn’t bat well in the middle overs. We lost wickets in clusters and that always breaks the back of the batting team. It was a commendable effort, the boys believed they could defend 135. We haven’t won the World Cup or reached the semifinal but we have played some good cricket in the last 12 months. There is a buzz among the supporters about West Indies cricket again and that is something we take away. We really appreciate the support we have got at various venues and the likes on social media.”

Aiden Markram, Winning Captain:

“Lot of relief to get through to the semifinal. We would have liked to be a lot more convincing. The wicket was playing nicely after the rain break but we tried to kill the game too early. It put us in a tricky position but happy to get over the line. We bowled really well, assessed conditions and kept them to a sub-par total. We could have build a partnership after the break and then take it from there, we will take that learning and hopefully not do that same mistake again. We picked Shamsi to have a mystery spinner against them and immediately saw it spinning, so we wanted to bowl as much spin as we can. If it wouldn’t spun that much then we would have used our pacers, not a lot of times when KG bowls only 2 overs. We have been doing really well, the bowling unit is firing and as a batting unit it is about when to take the game on. We need to be smart on those situations. I haven’t been following but whoever it might be we have to put our best foot forward.”