South Africa are on the verge of elimination after suffering a 3-wicket loss against West Indies at Nagpur. The West Indians, on the other hand, are through to the semi-finals of the ICC World T20.
Put into bat first, the Proteas struggled on a slow pitch and lost wickets at regular intervals. In the end, they could manage just 122/8 in their 20 overs. The West Indies chased down the target with two balls left.
What the captains had to say
Darren Sammy was full of praise for his team after the victory, saying that getting early wickets has benefitted the West Indies a lot in this tournament.
"We've been getting wickets in the powerplay and that's been putting pressure on the opposition. Today we were under pressure chasing a low total, and every decision we took out there they responded,” said Sammy.
South African captain Faf du Plessis, after the game, mentioned that his team was playing catch up through out the match which wasn’t an ideal situation for them.
"It felt like the whole game we were half a step behind West Indies and we were trying to catch up the whole time. 10 runs maybe more from the batters – it was a 135 deck. A great fight by the boys.
“This game makes us all very old, very quickly! West Indies were just a little bit better than us today. It was a little bit frantic that first six overs,” he said.
Samuels named Man of the Match
Marlon Samuels was named the Man of the Match for his run-a-ball 44.
"Sometimes you have to bat accord to the situation, The pitch was a bit on the slow side. Credit to South Africa, they bowled in good areas. The bowlers have been doing a wonderful job. Badree up front, then Benn. We have the power and have a mix of different players who can rotate the strike," said Samuels.
During the mid-innings break, Andre Russell had this to say: “Starting well in the first six is very important, especially getting a guy like Amla out early. We won't take this target for granted, the wicket is holding up and turning.”
Former South African Graeme Smith, at the start of the match, expressed at his displeasure (probably at the team selection?).
West Indian great Brian Lara pointed out one area where the Sammy-led side need to improve.
Shane Warne enforced the point that a strong West Indian team is great for the sport of cricket.
The pitches have come under criticism at this World T20, but Anil Kumble enjoyed the low-scoring match at Nagpur.
Scott Styris wasn’t too impressed by the approach of the South African batsmen.
On the other hand, Russell Arnold praised West Indies for their attitude.
Former West Indian fast bowler and current commentator Ian Bishop, as expected, was very pleased with the result.
Mahela Jayawardene is still hopeful of seeing Sri Lanka in the semi-finals.
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