ICC World T20: West Indies beat South Africa by 3 wickets to enter Semis

Updated: 26 March 2016 13:17 IST - Published: 25 March 2016 18:25 IST

So then, after a cracking day of cricket, the tournament rolls on.. We will see you tomorrow for another doubleheader and will be ready with our coverage. See you!

Faf du Plessis: " We were chasing the game the entire time and were always half a step behind. Probably 10 runs short.. will now have to wait and watch results of the other teams. West Indies were better than us today, and credit to them."

Darren Sammy: " I had butterflies in my stomach, we came here to take that one step to qualify and we achieved that. We will celebrate this win."

Marlon Samuels: " The pitch was on the slower side so had to bat accordingly. tye bowlers have been doing a good job, hopefully, they continue throughout the tournament. Badree and Benn have bowled well and we have managed to get early wickets. We have a mix of different players in the team."

This result means West Indies join New Zealand as the only two teams to have qualified for the semis. South Africa still have a chance, but they will have to hope that Sri Lanka defeat England tomorrow. For England, the equation is simple: defeat Sri Lanka, and progress to the semis. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, would likely have to win both their remaining matches to have any hope of progressing, because their net run rate is currently the worst of the 3.

Marlon Samuels is the player of the match for his 44-ball 43.

Tahir, Wiese and Phangiso bowled well, but Rabada's profligacy was too much to overcome. In a low-scoring game you can't have your main strike bowler leaking runs and extras by the dozen; you just can't. The young pacer has a lot to learn, and hopefully he'll learn how to control his bowling soon.

Johnson Charles was steady for the Caribbean men at the top, and Marlon Samuels rode his luck to an entertaining 44, which proved to be good enough for a chase of 122. Brathwaite played a handy role towards the end too, and his six off the 2nd ball of Rabada's over was the blow that ended South Africa's hopes.

At the end of the day, there were not enough runs on the board.

Credit to the South African bowlers for not giving up, but West Indies always had this in the bag. The total was not big enough to really trouble the batsmen, and with West Indies' batting depth it was always going to be an uphill task for the Proteas.

19.4 Rabada to Ramdin, 1 run, DROPPED by Amla at short third man. Ramdin guided a slower ball uppishly to shirt third where Amla jumped but cannot control the ball, and they cross over and Windies are in the semis.

And another dropped catch gives West Indies a boundary, which means South Africa are all but eliminated from the World T20!

Ramdin taking his time as he prepares to face his 1st ball, and Brathwaite comes up for a few words of advice.

The scores are tied now, and Rabada will have to channel his inner Hardik Pandya to get a favourable result for SA here.

19.3 Rabada to Brathwaite, 1 run, flicked off one leg to deep squre leg.

Rabada follows that meek ball by a wide, and his reputation as a death overs bowler is taking a serious hit.

19.3 Rabada to Brathwaite, 1 wide, slides it down the leg side.

Another length ball, but this one fails miserably! Brathwaite gets hold of that and heaves it way into the stands. Just 3 to win off 4 balls now, and save for a Bangladeh-esque choke, this match belongs to West Indies.

19.2 Rabada to Brathwaite, 6 runs, connects now and smacks it clean over long on. Pressure what pressure?

Rabada goes for length, but it works! Brathwaite swings at thin air, and now it's 10 to win off 5. Tension, tension, tension!

19.1 Rabada to Brathwaite, no run, Brathwaite cannot connect with the back of lenght ball and he misses again.

How has the game come here. West Indies will wonder.

Brathwaite pats the ball away safely for a single, which means West Indies need 9 to win off 6 balls. Rabada is likely to bowl the last over; can he control his line and length to deliver South Africa an unlikely victory?

9 runs required of the final over.

18.6 Morris to Brathwaite, 1 run, dropped on the on side and they cross over for a single.

Samuels' luck has finally run out. He lofts the ball straight up into the air, and AB de Villiers makes no mistake with the catch. 10 to win off 7 balls with 3 wickets left - this match is filled with more twists than a bunch of tangled up pretzels!

Tension has now built up.

18.5 Morris to Samuels, OUT, caught by AB at long on, was as slower ball and Samuels chips it in the air and AB will not miss those.

18.4 Morris to Samuels, 4 runs, backs away again and this time he gets another under edge and it runs away to that third man area again.

And another edge, this time off the bottom of the bat, goes for four! Everything is going the way of the West Indies right now.

14 from 9 is the equation now, and Faf du Plessis is making frantic changes to the field every ball. As long as Samuels is at the crease though, this is West Indies' game to lose.

18.3 Morris to Brathwaite, 1 run, short ball and Brathwaite plays it to on the side and they cross over for a single.

18.2 Morris to Samuels, 1 run, full toss and he hit it to sweeper cover for a single.

Samuels flays his bat at the ball, and gets an outside edge for a four. What South Africa wouldn't give for luck like that right now! But Samuels deserves credit for keeping his head in a tense situation.

18.1 Morris to Samuels, 4 runs, backs away and gets an outside edge that eludes Tahir at short third man. Big boundary this.

And that's 3 dot balls in a row to end that over, which yielded just 3 runs! This is excellent bowling from South Africa under pressure - not something you usually associated with them. Is this the match where they will put the 'chokers' tag to rest?

17.6 Wiese to Brathwaite, no run, another superb bumper following the batter and Brathwaite ducks. Yes he ducked!

17.5 Wiese to Brathwaite, no run, he is swinging without sighting the ball, the ball passes over the stumps.

2 dot balls in a row, and the pressure is squarely on the Caribbean batsmen.

17.4 Wiese to Brathwaite, no run, slower ball bumper, Brathwaite goes for the massive slog and gets an under-edge.

17.3 Wiese to Samuels, 1 run, rolled to point.

17.2 Wiese to Brathwaite, 1 run, defended and took off and had that ball hit the stumps Brathwaite was gone for all money. His bat was stuck.

A direct hit would have resulted in another wicket! Wiese had ample time to hit the stumps there, but he failed to aim correctly. Another lifeline for the West Indies!

17.1 Wiese to Samuels, 1 run, guided to short third man.

Carlos Brathwaite has come in to bat with 23 to win off 18 balls, and this is not nearly as straightforward as it looks. The ball is still difficult to get away on this pitch, but the good news for the West Indies is that Tahir's quota is over.

16.6 Tahir to Brathwaite, no run, full ball and Brathwaite defends it to Tahir. What an over. South Africa are right back in it.

This was the 1st time in the tournament that Sammy had got a chance to bat, but his stay didn't last long! A googly from Tahir completely befuddles him, and he can only look back in despair as the bails are disturbed.

That dew break has had its toll on Windies.

16.5 Tahir to Sammy, OUT, bowled, a googly and Sammy is all at sea with the prod and that snakes back in to take the stump.

The crowd is now in it.