West Indies had their moments and put on a brilliant batting display as well but still went down to South Africa as the Proteas on a placid Centurion pitch chased down 222 in 17.3 overs with Quinton de Kock leading the way with a scintillating hundred and Ryan Rickelton playing an important role. West Indies batting one can say slowed down in overs 11-15 but the bowling is a serious concern as it looked toothless to say the least. We will try and decipher why West Indies lost and surrendered the series in Centurion.
Losing 3/30 in overs 11-15 pegged West Indies back a little bit.Â
West Indies were off to a fantastic start despite losing Shai Hope early as they amassed 68 runs in the powerplay. Then after 10 overs as well, the West Indies were in a good position at 115/1 and looked good to maybe get even 230. But it was the phase between overs 11-15 where they stuttered a bit and were pegged back by the Proteas. Credit to Keshav Maharaj as he played an important role and got two wickets to finish with 2/22 in 4 overs.
Brandon King and Shimron Hetmyer were involved in a big partnership of 126 runs before King fell for 49 off 30 balls to Kagiso Rabada as the 12th over ended. Then in the 15th over, Keshav Maharaj did the star turn as he picked up Rovman Powell for 2 and then the dangerous Shimron Hetmyer for 75 off 42 balls to make sure West Indies were pegged back to 145/4 in 15 overs. To put things into perspective, South Africa were 122/1 in 10 overs and went to 192/2 in 15 overs meaning the hosts scored 70 runs in overs 11-15 for the loss of 1 wicket.
The batting in overs 11-15 was a stark difference between the two sides and West Indies were 40 runs fewer than South Africa and so the Proteas because of this prowess in overs 11-15 won the contest in 17.3 overs. Looking ahead just from West Indies’ batting point of view, they need to bat a lot better in this phase and not lose momentum. Every phase is important in a T20 game and this 5-over phase is very important as well. This is where they lacked in first T20I and in this game and needs improvement.
Inability to stop the rampage of Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton seals the fate of match and series.Â
Chasing 222 for the win, South Africa came out all guns blazing on a flat track as Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock took the attack to the West Indies. West Indies managed to get rid of the captain Markram for 15 off 12 balls but what followed was carnage as it was the Quinton de Kock show with Rickelton for company. They just tore apart the West Indies bowling first in the powerplay and then in the middle phase as well.
West Indies bowling looked toothless all around for the second game in a row and problems of plenty for the Men In Maroon going forward as well. Length and slot deliveries were dished out and de Kock and Rickelton had no problems facing them. Quinton was just magnificent and had a breathe of fresh air with this performance while Rickelton was also proving his detractors wrong after his late inclusion in the squad. The fielding was sloppy and the bowling pedestrian to say the least.
West Indies needs to have plans and must bowl a hell of a lot better if they want to do well not only in the next game but also in the World Cup as well. This bowling and fielding performance is not up to the mark and not up to standard either. If West Indies wishes to do well, they have to improve their bowling by leaps and bounds. They can do it but conceding 225 inside 18 overs shows that the bowling is the issue and not the batting as such.
Dropped catches and sloppy ground fielding compounds West Indies’ problems.Â
As if the bowling was not bad enough on a flat track, West Indies needed support from fielders and ground fielding as well to help the bowlers. But instead it was poor efforts after poor efforts which ruined their day. At the start of the 9th over, Ryan Rickelton when batting on 17 off 11 balls edged a ball from Jason Holder to short third fielder where Jayden Seales put down the catch. South Africa were 95/1 in 8 overs at that stage and had the catch being taken who knows things could have been different.
But Rickelton got a lifeline and made the most of it as he remained unbeaten till the end and won the game. The partnership would have been broken and South Africa would have felt more pressure especially de Kock but this costly miss came back to haunt the West Indies big times. The ground fielding was also not quite up to par as a lot of balls were let go off. This just compounded the problems as fielding is something that one can control everyday, batting and bowling maybe off and on.
Catches win matches is the old saying and if you don’t take your chances against quality sides on good tracks you are going to pay for it and West Indies paid for it big time in this game. They had a great chance to win when we paused for the interval but then they blew the chance and now have lost yet another series. Back-to-back T20I series losses with the other one coming against Afghanistan and this is not a good sign and build-up for the West Indies going ahead. Can the Windies avoid the whitewash? Only time will tell.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, South Africa will look to seal the series 3-0 after winning the second T20I as they hold a 2-0 lead at this stage. They will definitely go for the whitewash while West Indies like they always do in dead rubbers play for pride and try and win those games. Saturday will be no different for them as they aim to win the match and finish on a high and answer these gaping holes in them.
Will we see a whitewash? Or will West Indies pull one back? Find that answer out on Saturday night.
Also Read:Â SA vs WI: Quinton De Kock Buries West Indies & Seals Series