South Africa inch closer to semis
South Africa inched closer to a semi-final berth in the ICC World T20 after victory over giant-killers West Indies.
Strong contenders South Africa first compiled a competitive 183 for seven riding on Herschelle Gibbs' rollicking 55 and then restricted the Caribbean team to 163 for nine to create a record of sorts by registering their sixth consecutive T20 triumph in a Super Eight match on Saturday.
The victory at the Kenington Oval not only brought an end to West Indies' giant-killing spree but almost assured the Proteas a berth in the semi-finals. They play their last Group-E Super Eight match against India on Tuesday.
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Lendl Simmons very nearly took West Indies to the target with with a blistering 50-ball 77 but could not get any support from the other top order batsmen.
It was yet another convincing performance by the South Africans who outplayed the islanders in all departments of the game.
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The 35-year-old Gibbs was the batting star for the Proteas with a 35-ball 55 which contained eight boundaries and a six. The seasoned Jacques Kallis (45) and captain Graeme Smith (31) were the other notable performers for the South Africans.
The South African innings began on a brisk note with the experienced duo of Smith and Kallis finding the boundaries easy to come by against the West Indies pacemen who were a trifle erratic in their opening spell.
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Smith set the tempo by clobbering Fidel Edwards for two consecutive boundaries in the second over of the match while Kallis also showed his aggressive intent by hammering Jerome Taylor for 16 runs in the next over.
With the runs coming easily, West Indies skipper Chris Gayle introduced Dwayne Bravo, the hero in the last match against India, into the attack in the fifth over. But Smith greeted him with three consecutive boundaries.
Smith and Kallis put on a brisk 54 runs on the board for the first wicket before the lanky spinner Suleiman Benn provided the breakthrough by getting rid of the dangerous Smith.
The South African captain offered a simple catch to Andre Fletcher at the point region, which brought an end to his 18-ball knock containing six boundaries.
Gibbs, who joined the action after his captain's dismissal, kept the tempo going with a barrage of shots on both sides of the wicket much to the delight of the seizable South African spectators in the galleries.
Kallis and Gibbs seemed to be in no discomfort on what appeared to be a good batting track at the Kennington Oval as Gayle kept rotating his bowlers in a bid to stem the run flow.
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Part-timer Lendl Simmons brought an end to the breezy 51-run partnership by evicting Kallis, who was caught by Kieron Pollard at the fence as he mistimed the shot. His 31-ball 45 was studded with six boundaries and a six.
Gibbs, who seemed in devastating form, completed his half century with a boundary but perished soon after, reducing the Proteas to 136 for three by the 15th over. His effort was studded with eight boundaries and a six.
The Proteas, who were comfortably placed at 155 for three at one stage, lost wickets in quick succession towards the end of their innings as they tried to accelerate the pace of scoring.
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Teams:
South Africa: GC Smith, JH Kallis, HH Gibbs, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, JA Morkel, MV Boucher, RE van der Merwe, DW Steyn, WD Parnell, J Botha.
West Indies: CH Gayle, ADS Fletcher, RR Sarwan, S Chanderpaul, LMP Simmons, DJ Bravo, KA Pollard, D Ramdin, JE Taylor, SJ Benn, FH Edwards.
With crucial players like Chris Gayle, Virender Sehwag, Daniel Vettori and Kevin Pietersen nursing injuries, is the slam-bang version of cricket starting to take its toll on the players? You know where to write in with your thoughts. Write in to us at: fanspeak@espnstar.co.in
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