T20 World Cup 2021, Match 18: South Africa vs West Indies, Stats Review: Chris Gayle’s feat, Reeza Hendricks’ milestones and other stats

South Africa have opened their account in T20 World Cup 2021, having defeated West Indies by eight wickets in their latest assignment. It was indeed a clinical show from the Proteas side as the defending champions hardly look in the contest. While South African bowlers did to restrict West Indies’ daunting batting line-up, their batters played sensible cricket to seal the deal.

Speaking of how the game panned out, South Africa won the toss and opted to bowl at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. With Evin Lewis attacking bowlers from the outset, the Caribbean side got off to a flying start. The southpaw even scored a quick-fire fifty. However, the middle-order collapsed yet again as the reigning champions were restricted to 143/8 in their allotted 20 overs.

Chasing the modest target, South Africa lost their skipper Temba Bavuma in the very first over. However, Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen steadied the ship with a 57-run stand. Aiden Markram arrived after the former’s dismissal and his blitzes knocked Windies out of the contest. As a result, South Africa crossed the line in 18.2 overs, winning the game by eight wickets.

Meanwhile, here are the important stats and numbers from South Africa vs West Indies clash in T20 World Cup 2021:

7 – Reeza Hendricks became the seventh South African batter to complete 1000 runs in T20I cricket.

500 – Aiden Markram completed 500 runs in T20I cricket.

2 – Evin Lewis smashed six sixes during his 56-run knock, second-most by a batter against South Africa in a T20 World Cup innings.

3 – Among batters who have faced over 30 balls in a T20 World Cup innings, Lendl Simmons’ strike rate of 45.71 is the third lowest.

35 – Simmons faced 35 balls during his 16-run knock, joint-most by a batter in a T20 World Cup innings without hitting a boundary. He now shares the record with Matthew Cross and Alok Kapali.

3 – Chris Gayle became the third player after Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo to feature in 450 T20 matches.

4 – This was just the fourth occasion of Gayle batting at number four or lower in a T20 match.

4 – Dwayne Bravo has now played the joint fourth-most number of matches in T20 World Cups (31). Mahela Jayawardene, Lasith Malinga, Kumar Sangakkara, and Yuvraj Singh also featured in as many games.

2 – Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram recorded the second-biggest partnership by a South African pair in a T20 World Cup match (72).

2 – Aiden Markram has now smashed the second-most number of sixes by a South African batter while chasing in a T20 World Cup match (4).