West Indies defeat South Africa in the third T20 to clinch the series 2-1

The West Indies vs South Africa T20 series has finally come to an end with West Indies clinching the series by 2-1. West Indies defeated South Africa in the final and third T20 international by 7 runs to take the series home. The series was tied at 1-1 before the final game as West Indies won the first game whereas South Africa make a  huge comeback in the second one. The stage was set for a thriller and the two teams didn’t fail to keep the fans on their nerves throughout the game. 

West Indies put up 220. 

Having won the toss, South Africa invited West Indies to bat first on a flat surface. Having made a record chase in the last T20i, South Africa were under the impression that chasing would be easier on this surface too. Openers Brandon King and Kyle Mayers gave West Indies an explosive start as the duo put up 39 runs in just 3.2 overs before Mayers was clean-bowled by Rabada. Last match’s hero Johnson Charles didn’t trouble the scorers at all and was cleaned up by Rabada in a similar fashion the very next ball. 

Brandon King and former captain Nicholas Pooran continued the strokeplay ad took West Indies to 94 in just  8.3 overs. However, the wickets started tumbling after that as West Indies were reduced to 149 for 7 in 14.2 overs and it seemed the team may soon be bowled out. But Romario Shepherd had plans of his own. Coming in at number 9 to bat, Shepherd, smashed a 22 ball 44 to take West Indies’ total to 220. 

Apart from Shepherd, Nicholas Pooran scored 44 off 19 deliveries while Brandon King scored 36 off 25 balls. For South Africa, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, and Lungi Ngidi took 3 wickets each but leaked runs at a hemorrhaging rate. 

South Africa almost chased but…..

In response, South African openers started steadily and put up 32 runs in 4.2 overs. Things were looking good for South Africa but then Alzarri Joseph removed Quinton de Kock. Quinton had scored 21 runs in 21 balls before being caught by Roston Chase. Nonetheless, Reeza Hendricks and Riley Russouw did not let this affect the team’s momentum and kept hitting the ball to all parts of the ground. 

The duo took South Africa’s score to 112 runs in 11 overs as Russouw smashed a 21-ball 42 before being caught behind by Johnson Charles off Alzarri Joseph. However, Reeza Hendricks continued the attack and at one point, it felt that South Africa will whizz past West Indies’ score to set up the Caribbean players for yet another upset. Once Alzarri Joseph removed Reeza Hendricks, none of the South African batters found their mark and failed to sail past the winning line. South Africa managed to score just 213 runs in their 20 overs, falling 7 runs short of West Indies’ tally. 

Joseph finished with figures of 5 for 40 and was awarded the Player of the Match. Johnson Charles was awarded the Player of the series. Reeza Hendricks was the top scorer of the game with 83 runs from 44 balls. 

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