During a crucial Super Eights Group 1 match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 26, 2026, the West Indies had an up-and-down performance but ultimately posted a competitive total of 176 runs for 8 wickets in 20 overs after South Africa ended up fielding first. The first few overs of the innings were quite explosive, followed by a dramatic decline in runs during the mid-innings, before a sensational comeback by the lower-order batsman with Romario Shepherd scoring a brilliant fifty not out and Jason Holder hitting an aggressive 49 runs.
West Indies Launch Phase(1-6 overs)
The West Indies started off aggressively and scored 52/4 within their powerplay period, Shai Hope scored 17 runs during his first over against Keshav Maharaj (two sexes and one four) and helped contribute to the team scoring 29 runs with Brandon King within the first 2 overs. Despite this quick start, the South African pace attack took control of the innings as both Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi took wickets to have the West Indies at 52/4 by the end of the powerplay period. South Africa were able to re-establish their dominance during the powerplay period via precision bowling.
West Indies Consolidation Phase (Overs 7-13)
In the middle overs, the West Indies were unable to establish any momentum as they found themselves at 97/7 after 13 overs. Rovman Powell (9) and Sherfane Rutherford (12) both fell for cheap wickets, with key wickets falling to Corbin Bosch and Ngidi. The West Indies were on the verge of losing the match when Matthew Forde provided a brief period of resistance, scoring 11 runs (including one six), however, the batsmen were still at 86/7. Jason Holder (who came in at No 8) and Romario Shepherd were cautious in their approach adding only singles off the accurate bowling of Rabada and Maharaj. Shepherd received a blow to the neck/shoulder area early in his innings, however, was able to provide stability to the innings. At the drinks break after 14 overs the West Indies had reached 109/7 after the two of them were able to provide a level of stability to their innings during an outstanding bowling performance from the South African bowlers (Ngidi 3/25, Rabada 2/11).
West Indies Acceleration Phase (Overs 14-17)
The tide turned drastically when Holder & Shepherd began their counteroffensive against the South African bowlers. Shepherd hit Keshav Maharaj for a massive six over deep cover, while H. Holder was hitting Marco Jansen. During the 14th through 17th overs, these two players provided key runs through Shepherd’s third and final six off Bosch and Holder also having powerful runs. Another 50-plus run partnership occurred with Shepherd’s final six off K. Rabada. During that phase, the West Indies added to their momentum by jumping from 109/7 to 140/7 after 17 overs from a plethora of boundaries and sixes against some element of bowlers fatigue.
West Indies Finish Phase (Overs 18-20)
The fireworks that went off in the death overs pushed the overall total over 170; Jansen gave up 23 runs in his final over to Holder, who had a dominant display by hitting two sixes and two fours. Ngidi’s slower balls slowed down the strike momentarily but Shepherd picked up pace with some streaky boundaries that were effective. In the last over of the innings, Bosch allowed 8 runs, which included Shepherd’s thick inside edge for four that brought up his spectacular fifty (52 runs off 37). There was a late run-out of Holder (49 off 31 runs with 4 fours and 3 sixes) when he was trying to run byes, preventing any further damage on at the crease with Motie (0*). West Indies were in trouble at 86/7 but believed in their team because of the contributions from both Shepherd and Holder, who both contributed helpful runs to make 177 an interesting target for South Africa on a difficult pitch.