Match Details

SA vs WI 3rd Matchth Match, RSA vs WI 2021

166-720.0

South Africa won by 1 run

20.0167-8

Match info

Live

Scorecard

Session	Open	PASS
6 Over	54	48
10 Over	82	89

Session	Open	PASS
6 Over	51	51
10 Over	83	91
15 Over	133	131
20 Over	187	167

Commentary

That's all we have today from here. Till the next time it's ta-ta and babyee from me, Arya Sekhar Chakraborty and my fellow commentators and good mates Arijit Kundu and Karthik Raj.

Temba Bavuma, South Africa skipper: I think it's a big confidence booster for us as a team. In the past, we have let slip such games. A big confidence booster but there are still two games left. I am still confident that 180 is a total to get on this wicket. It gets difficult in the second half and in that case, we back our bowlers to come good. It was nice having an extra bowling option; Aiden is more than a part-timer. Shamsi has been magnificent. It makes my job easier. He has been supported well by George. But we don't want to get ahead of ourselves, these guys are not world champions for no reason.

Kieron Pollard, West Indies skipper: At some point of time we hope to get right. Getting off to a good start and not being able to get over the line... we just have to find a way. Time and time again you have these close matches. Sometimes you end on a winning side, sometimes on a losing side. The bowlers have been fantastic. South Africa have been getting off to a good start. Actually both teams. That's the nature of the wicket. Obed McCoy and Bravo were superb at the death.

Time for Post-match presentation with Mike Haysmon.

Tabraiz Shamsi, the Player of the Match: The whole unit was brilliant today. Quinny showed his class with the bat and then bowlers were brilliant. We had a hard chat after the first game. People gave a lot of criticism but we are a young side and the boys are learning pretty quickly. Evin plays differently how Shimron was playing. So you have to adjust accordingly. But I am really happy with the bowling performance of the whole unit. As a player, you always want more. I want us to score 250 but that's not always possible. Wickets are also getting tougher, so we fully back out batsmen and as a bowling unit, our job is to come out and try to defend.

Tabraiz Shamsi is the Player of the Match for his magnificent spell of 2/13 in 4 overs.

Arya: de Kock played some exceptional shots en route to a knock of 72 of 51 deliveries which included 5 fours and a couple of sixes. South Africa looked well set for a huge score but suddenly a cluster of wickets pushed them to the backfoot and they couldn't quite get the 180-190 mark and had to satisfied with 167. Obed McCoy came back for his second spell and bagged three more wickets to finish with 4/22 in his 4 overs spell. In the end the score just proved to be enough as the visitors won their 2nd match on a trot to go 2-1 up in the 5 match series.

Arya: Earlier in the day it was Pollard who won the toss and put the oppositions in. The South African openers Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks got them off to a brilliant start with a 42 runs partnership in very quick time. de Kock looked in complete control of proceedings and was finding the gap to perfection right from the word go. It was left-arm pacer Obed McCoy who gave the hosts their first wicket in the form of Hendricks. Bavuma was almost dismissed early but it was Rassie van der Dussen and De Kock who resurrected the innings with a sensible partnership.

Arya: Rabada was quite magnificent in the final over and showed why he is one of the very best going around. He held his nerves and bowled some terrific yorkers to unsettle the nerves of Fabian Allen. Three of the deliveries went between the legs of Allen as he kept following him before missing in the final delivery but by then South Africa had already secured a victory. Allen smashed a six of the final delivery which eventually handed the Proteas a one run victory.

Arya: Jason Holder and Shimron Hetmyer got starts and looked good during their brief stays but gave away their wickets at crucial junctures of the game. Nicholas Pooran came into steady the ship and along with Russell, he got within touching distance of the victory target. Rusell whacked a couple out of the park and Pooran added one more in the 17th over which almost sealed the deal for the hosts. However Anrich Nortje came back brilliantly in the penultimate over bagging his wicket and giving Rabada 15 to defend in the last over.

Arya: West Indies was high on confidence while starting the chase after a brilliant comeback from their bowlers in the last few overs. The opening duo of Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis got them off to a decent start with a fifty runs partnership which set the foundation for the run chase. However, it was the spinners George Linde and Tabraiz Shamsi who got the Proteas back into the match with back to back wickets of the openers.

Arya: A nail-biting thriller and in the end the visiting South African side prevails by a solitary run. The run chase was going well for the home team but they failed to rest home the initiative and faltered in the final stages which allowed the South African bowlers to claw their way back and win the thriller by 1 run.

OVER 20.0

West Indies

166/7

Fabian Allen

14(9)

Dwayne Bravo

0(1)

Kagiso Rabada

1-41(4.0)

19.6 K Rabada to F Allen

6 A six to finish the match but unfortunately for West Indies that is not enough. A full toss from Rabada and Allen connects this time and heaves it well over the deep square leg boundary for a maximum. In the end, South Africa wins by just a run.

Arijit: Hats off !! Bow down before Lord Rabada!! He just extracted the game in the favour of Proteas with his pinpoint execution. Also not to forget the brilliant 19th over by Nortje.

19.5 K Rabada to F Allen

0 That should be it for the hosts. Yet again the yorker goes between the legs of Allen and he unable to get under it again. This is why Rabada is one of the best fast bowlers going around. Quite brilliant.

19.4 K Rabada to F Allen

2 Rabada aims at a similar delivery and almost nails it again. Allen manages to flick this away this time but only as far as the deep backward square leg fielder and a misfield there allows him to return for a couple.

Arijit: Whoaaaa !! what a peach !!!

19.3 K Rabada to F Allen

0 Gone through the legs of Allen yet again, had he left that alone it would have been another wide. Allen is always on the leg side and Rabada follows him again and Allen yet again doesn't connect.

19.2 K Rabada to F Allen

4 A very important boundary for the hosts. Full toss on this occasion from Rabada, Allen manages to get the inside part of the bat and beats the fielder at short fine leg and it runs down to the boundary ropes.