SA vs WI: South Africa crushes West Indies
Sports Desk, New Delhi. SA vs WI 1st T20I: On the basis of captain Aiden Markram's captaincy innings and excellent performance by the bowlers, South Africa defeated West Indies by 9 wickets in the first match of the three-match T20 series.
In this match played at Boland Park, Paarl, the Proteas team not only won but also proved their preparations before the 2026 T20 World Cup. Excluding World Cup matches, this is South Africa's first win against West Indies in the last 8 T20 matches.
SA vs WI: South Africa crushes West Indies
West Indies, who came to bat first after losing the toss, had an aggressive start. Brandon King (27) and Johnson Charles added 39 runs in the first 4 overs. But experienced spinner Keshav Maharaj broke this partnership by dismissing Charles (13). Soon after, Corbin Bosch broke the back of the Windies by sending King to the pavilion.
At one time the team had lost 5 wickets for 95 runs, but after that Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell took charge. The partnership of 74 runs between the two brought the Caribbean team out of trouble. However, in the end George Linde's spin worked its magic. Linde took 3 wickets for just 25 runs in his quota of 4 overs, due to which West Indies could only score 173/7 in 20 overs.
Chasing the target of 174 runs, the South African team targeted the Caribbean bowlers from the very beginning. Young sensation Luan-Dre Pretorius and captain Aiden Markram made a brilliant partnership of 83 runs for the first wicket. Pretorius became the victim of chase after scoring 44 runs. After this, Ryan Rickelton, who came at number-3, played an unbeaten inning of 40 runs.
There was an unbroken partnership of 93 runs for the second wicket between Markram and Rickelton. Playing cautiously, Rickelton scored unbeaten 40 runs and led the team to victory with 13 balls remaining. With this victory, South Africa has taken a 1-0 lead in the series. Now the second T20 match of the series will be played on January 29 at the SuperSport Park in Centurion, where the host team will be eyeing to seal the series.
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