Twitter Reactions: De Kock, Shamsi and Nortje give South Africa 2-1 series lead
Kagiso Rabada defended 15 runs in the last over despite a four and a six from Fabian Allen.
After losing the opening T20I, South Africa have managed to make a stupendous comeback in the five-match series against the West Indies. On Tuesday, May 29, the Proteas won the third game by one run to take a crucial 2-1 lead in the series. The hosts, in the meantime, have failed to chase down targets in back-to-back matches and are now in a must-win position for the remaining games.
De Kock takes charge
After being put in to bat first, the visitors started handsomely. Reeza Hendricks and Quinton de Kock put on 42 for the opening wicket off 25 balls before Obed McCoy dismissed the former. In the same over, McCoy picked Temba Bavuma’s wicket as well.
Aiden Markram scored an 18-ball 23 before he fell prey to Dwayne Bravo. De Kock and Rassie van der Dussen stitched together a 60-run stand. Van der Dussen notched a 24-ball 32 after which he became McCoy’s third victim. David Miller and George Linde couldn’t get into double digits.
De Kock, on the other hand, played until the 18th over and racked up 72 runs off 51 balls with five fours and two sixes. For the Caribbean team, McCoy got four wickets and he got the apt support from Bravo, picked up three wickets for only 25 runs.
Proteas get home
West Indies had a steady start to their run-chase after Evin Lewis and Lendl Simmons’ 55-run stand for the opening wicket. Both scored in their 20s before falling prey to the spinners- Linde and Tabraiz Shamsi. Jason Holder’s promotion to three worked to some extent as he got an 11-ball 16.
Shimron Hetmyer hit two sixes on his return to the playing eleven before Shamsi accounted for his prized scalp. When Kagiso Rabada pinned Kieron Pollard, the home team needed 64 runs off 45 balls. Nicholas Pooran and Andre Russell scored 26 and 25 to keep West Indies in the game.
The hosts needed 15 runs to win off the last over, but despite Fabian Allen’s last-ball six, they couldn’t get over the finishing line. Not to forget that Rabada bowled as many as three dot deliveries in the last over. Anrich Nortje also picked up two wickets.
Here’s how the netizens reacted to South Africa’s win:
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