Caption: West Indies captain Rovman Powell, left, and South African skipper Aiden Markram with the 2024 series T20I trophy
West Indies 179 for 6 (Hope 41, Powell 35, Williams 3-36, Kruger 2-29) beat South Africa 149 (Hendricks 44, Stubbs 28, Shepherd 3-15, Joseph 3-31) by 30 runs
By Prior Beharry
THE West Indies defeat South Africa by 30 runs at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on Sunday to secure the T20 series with one match still to play.
This victory marked the West Indies’ second consecutive win in the three-match series, following their opening triumph by seven wickets.
Batting first after losing the toss, the West Indies set a challenging target of 179 for six in their 20 overs. Key contributions came from captain Rovman Powell, who scored 35, and Sherfane Rutherford, who added 29. The highlight of the innings was a solid partnership between the openers Alick Athanaze and Shai Hope, who provided the foundation with a 41-run stand.
However, South Africa seemed poised to level the series during their chase, with explosive performances from their top order. Reeza Hendricks led the charge with a blazing 44 runs off just 18 balls, helping the visitors race to 63 runs in less than five overs.
But the match turned dramatically as West Indies bowlers Romario Shepherd and Shamar Joseph led a middle-order collapse. Shepherd, named Man of the Match, took three wickets for just 15 runs, while Joseph claimed three for 31. Together, they dismantled South Africa’s batting lineup, which lost its last seven wickets for a mere 20 runs, collapsing from a comfortable 129-3 to all out for 149.
Despite a strong start, South Africa’s innings faltered as they struggled against the West Indies’ disciplined bowling attack. Joseph initiated the slide by dismissing opener Ryan Rickelton, and Shepherd followed by taking out Hendricks, who had been dominating the bowlers.
With the series now at 2-0, the West Indies will be looking to complete a clean sweep in the final match at the same venue on Tuesday.
