Beleaguered West Indies crashed to a second straight defeat at the Twenty20 World Cup after South Africa effortlessly thrashed them by eight wickets on Tuesday, further embroiling their campaign in misery and imperiling their chances of a successful title defense.
Hoping to lift themselves following a similarly heavy defeat to England last Saturday, West Indies failed to produce the level of intensity required, and could only muster 143 for eight off their 20 overs at Dubai International Stadium, with opener Evin Lewis top-scoring with 56 off 35 balls.
In reply, South Africa easily overhauled the target with ten balls remaining to register their first win of the tournament following last weekend’s defeat to Australia.
They were set back by the early loss of captain Tamba Bavuma for two to the sixth delivery of the innings but Aiden Markram struck an unbeaten 51 off 26 balls and Rassie van der Dussen, an unbeaten 43 off 51 deliveries, to rescue the run chase.
Van der Dussen put on 57 for the second wicket with Reeza Hendricks who made 39 off 30 balls before adding a further 83 in an unbroken third-wicket stand with Markram, who counted two fours and four sixes in his fifth T20I half-century.
With the defeat, West Indies remained rooted to the bottom of Group 1 saddled with an adverse net run rate, leaving them with the daunting prospect of having to win all three of their remaining games against Sri Lanka, Australia and Bangladesh, in order to keep alive their chances of reaching the semi-finals.
“We just have to do what it takes. We have to dig deeper as a team. We have to dig deeper as a batting unit. We have to come out and hold our heads up and try to play a good game of cricket,” said a dejected captain Kieron Pollard.
“We have to get wins on the board now. We’ve put ourselves in a position whereas from a run rate perspective that’s pretty low, and from a win percentage we haven’t won any games, so we have to win the next three games.
“We just have to take it one at a time and try to improve each and every time.”
The left-handed Lewis inspired an opening stand of 73 with Lendl Simmons (16), which appeared to lay the platform for a late assault.
Once they were separated, however, only Pollard with 26 off 20 deliveries managed to pass 20 as West Indies lost eight wickets for 70 runs to decline quickly, with fast bowler Dwaine Pretorius snaring three for 27 and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, two for 24.
Lewis managed a single run from his first ten deliveries but emerged from that muted start to blast three fours and half-dozen sixes, and reach his tenth T20I half-century off 32 balls in the tenth over by slog-sweeping left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi over square leg for his fifth six.
Disappointingly, he perished in the next over, holing out to deep mid-wicket off Maharaj, his dismissal triggering a slump with West Indies losing three wickets for 16 runs off 17 balls, as Simmons and Nicholas Pooran (12) followed quickly.
Pooran lofted Maharaj to long-off in the 13th over before Simmons, dropped on four by wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen in the sixth over, lost his leg stump to seamer Kagiso Rabada in the 14th over to end an agonizing 35-ball labor which was bereft of a single boundary.
Pollard, who punched two fours and a six, combined with veteran Chris Gayle (12) in a 32-run, fourth wicket stand which hinted at a revival.
But Gayle’s wretched form continued when he edged a leaden-footed waft at Pretorius and edged behind in the 18th over and when Andre Russell was yorked by speedster Anrich Nortje in the penultimate over for five, West Indies were falling apart at 132 for five.
Shimron Hetmyer was run out for two balls later and any hopes of a strong final-over finish evaporated when Pollard was taken inches off the turf at mid-off by van der Dussen off the second ball from Pretorius.
West Indies then struck early, Russell’s direct hit at the non-striker’s end from mid-on accounting for Bavuma as he attempted to pinch a quick single.
However, Hendricks belted four fours and six and van der Dussen hit three fours, in a measured half-century stand which steadied the innings.
By the time Hetmyer ran in from deep square to snaffle Hendricks’ pull off left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein at 61 for two in the 10th, the Proteas were staring at a straightforward required run rate of just under eight runs an over, and Markram arrived to formalize the result.
CMC
