Putting their usual template on display, West Indies flexed their powerful muscles with the bat to a convincing victory by eight wickets against South Africa in the first T20I on Saturday in Grenada. The defending T20I world champions kicked off the five-match series on a winning note.
Opting to bowl first after winning the toss, West Indies restricted South Africa to a score of 160/6 in 20 overs, with left-arm spinner Fabian Allen (2/18) being the stand-out performer, as he picked up two wickets for less than five an over in his four-over spell. Dwayne Bravo (2/30) also produced a restrictive spell, while Jason Holder (1/29), Andre Russell (1/29) contributed a wicket each.
In-form Rassie van der Dussen was the top-scorer for South Africa with a quickfire half-century (56) in the middle-order. Quinton de Kock (37) gave his team a solid start, but a couple of rain interruptions in the middle took the momentum away from the visitors and handed the Calypso Kings an advantage.
In the run-chase, Andre Fletcher and Evin Lewis blazed their willow to all parts from the very beginning and maximised the powerplay restrictions. The duo added 85 runs for the first wicket in 7 overs before Fletcher (30) was dismissed. Lewis, however, continued to dominate the Proteas attack and went past his fifty, eventually finishing as West Indies’ top-scorer with a 71.
West Indies promoted comeback man Russell to bat at No.4 and join another experienced returnee, Chris Gayle, at the crease. They gave the innings the final touches, with Gayle making 32* off 24 balls and Russell hitting his way through to an unbeaten 23 off 12 deliveries.
Left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (1/27) and pacer Anrich Nortje (0/10) were the only Proteas bowler to escape the punishment unleashed on the rest.
West Indies hit as many as 15 sixes, as opposed to South Africa’s 5, and ended the proceedings with full five overs remaining to send a nice reminder to other teams eyeing the T20 World Cup, who their most dangerous opposition will be.
Brief scores
South Africa 160/6 in 20 overs (Rassie van der Dussen 56, Quinton de Kock 37; Fabian Allen 2/18) lost to West Indies 161/2 in 15 overs (Evin Lewis 71, Chris Gayle 32; Tabraiz Shamsi 1/27) by eight wickets
