Markram leads rout as SA inch closer to semis

For a clash between the only two unbeaten sides at the T20 World Cup, this one turned out to be a stroll in the park for South Africa. Their bowlers dominated West Indies, who did stage a remarkable recovery to post a competitive score, only for the South African top-order led by Aiden Markram to make light work of the target en route to a 9-wicket win

Extra bounce off the shorter and hard lengths would prove to be the theme for the pacers, after Markram asked West Indies to bat first. The red soil deck came to their aid although Markram surprisingly started with the spin of Keshav Maharaj. The move backfired as Shai Hope bludgeoned a four and two sixes in the opening over, with the second of those sixes resulting from Dewald Brevis falling over the ropes as he held onto the ball.

That was one of three catches that would go down in the Powerplay and yet, South Africa managed to prize out four wickets. Kagiso Rabada, wicketless in each of his three previous encounters, nabbed Hope on the slash as he undid him with extra bounce. Shimron Hetmyer was dropped first ball but perished in the same over as he mis-hit a pull to mid-wicket. Lungi Ngidi then got into the act, first getting past a fluent-looking Brandon King as he generated sharp lift off the deck, following which he got Roston Chase to chop the ball onto his stumps.

West Indies were firm on going for their shots, but Sherfane Rutherford miscued a pull off Corbin Bosch after the Powerplay. Rovman Powell fell cheaply too while Matthew Forde, batting ahead of Romario Shepherd, failed to stamp his authority either as West Indies were in disarray at 83/7. That brought Jason Holder and Shepherd together and while the consolidation was on, neither shied away from swinging their arms whenever an opportunity came their way. A costly drop off the last ball of the 14th over gave Holder a reprieve and he made South Africa pay, as the two all-rounders raised a fifty-partnership in quick time.

West Indies continued to leverage their depth, hitting a crescendo in the 18th over as Marco Jansen traveled for 23 runs. While Ngidi was splendid with his usage of the slower deliveries in the 19th over before Bosch nailed his yorkers in the last, West Indies recovered well enough to finish on 176/8. Holder was run out for 49, but Shepherd notched up his first T20I fifty with a fortuitous boundary off the last ball of the innings.

South Africa's chase began with Markram unleashing aesthetic shots at ease once again. He peeled off fours and sixes at will with Quinton de Kock following suit as he tore into Shamar Joseph in the final Powerplay over, with South Africa whipping up 69 runs in that phase. There was no stopping the duo as they continued to go about their work with Gudakesh Motie's back-of-the-hand variation receiving severe treatment from de Kock. It was a surprise that off-spin all-rounder Roston Chase, who was a tactical selection according to skipper Hope, had a go at de Kock only in the 8th over.

De Kock parked the ball into the crowd over mid-wicket and pulled one more to the fence, before holing out to Jason Holder. Ryan Rickelton walked in at 3 and kept the momentum going though, even as Markram raised a fluent fifty. West Indies did have a couple of very tough catching chances come their way which went down, but their bowlers were far from penetrative. At 109/1 at the halfway mark, the chase looked all but sealed.

It was a question of when and not if as Rickelton and Markram continued to punish the bowlers, peppering the crowd regularly. Holder and Shepherd did nail their yorkers, but it only delayed the inevitable. And while Rickelton ended not out on 45, Markram got the job done with a bottom-handed loft over Holder's head to snap West Indies' unbeaten run. His 82* also earned him the Player of the Match award with South Africa inching closer to another semifinal berth.

Brief scores:West Indies 176/8 in 20 overs (Romario Shepherd 52*, Jason Holder 49, Lungi Ngidi 3-30, Kagiso Rabada 2-22) lost to South Africa 177/1 in 16.1 overs (Aiden Markram 82*, Quinton de Kock 47, Ryan Rickelton 45*) by 9 wickets