Brandon King-led West Indies got off to a winning start in the T20I series against South Africa in Kingston, Jamaica, securing a 28-run victory in the first of three T20Is. Despite missing some of their big names in the batting department due to IPL duties, skipper Brandon King made up for the absence with a 45-ball 79 that helped them post 175/5. Reeza Hendricks struck a 51-ball 87 but lack of support from the other end meant that South Africa were bowled out for 147. Matthew Forde and Gudakesh Motie bagged three wickets apiece.
Home boy Brandon King, captaining in place of Rovman Powell, set the tone with an aggressive 45-ball 79. T20 World Cup co-hosts West Indies got on the front foot in their final preparations for the tournament with a commanding 28-run win over South Africa, their biggest margin of victory over them batting first. Neither side had their first-choice XI available, with some players rested or still at the IPL, but West Indies will be pleased with their dominance at home, especially as this was the first international at Sabina Park in almost two years.
Pitch and Toss
64m and 65m square boundaries. Historically pacers have been getting wickets but spinners have been tougher to score of. I would want to exploit the barren patches at one end and the pacers to use the live grass at the other end – opine Nikhil Uttamchandani and Carlos Brathwaite
South Africa skipper Rassie Van der Dussen won the toss and chose to bowl first and had two debutants Rickleton and Baartman in their playing XI. West Indies skipper Brandon King batting first handed debut to Shamar Joseph in their playing XI.
Brandon King sets the tone for West Indies right from the start
Home boy Brandon King, captaining in place of Rovman Powell, set the tone with an aggressive 45-ball 79. He also shared in a 79-run second-wicket partnership with Kyle Mayers, who is not in the T20 World Cup squad. Brandon King was the mainstay as West Indies built a healthy platform with scores of 64 for 1 in the Powerplay and 109 for 1 at the halfway stage, but they lost 6 for 40 between the 14th and final over to finish on 175 for 8.
On his home ground, and in his first match as an international captain, Brandon King dominated South Africa upfront and set the tone for West Indies comeback to Sabina Park. Brandon King enjoyed the bulk of the strike in the first three overs and capitalized on that. Brandon King faced 16 out of 18 balls and scored 28, including three fours and two sixes.
By contrast, Charles, only saw two balls and had not scored a run. Charles became Baartman’s first international wicket but Brandon King went on to record his fastest T20I fifty off 26 balls and was closing in on his highest score in a display headlined by innovative movement at the crease which included exposing his stumps.
Phehlukwayo eventually benefitted from Brandon King making room, when he sent down a full, wide ball that Brandon King had to reach for, and toe-ended it to van der Dussen, who ran to his right from the covers. Brandon King was dismissed at the end of the 11th over for 79, six fewer than his T20I career best.
Asked to bat, West Indies were off the blocks quickly thanks to King who dealt in regular boundaries. Johnson Charles, who contributed only 1 in the opening stand worth 36, was dismissed in the fourth over by Ottniel Baartman. But there was no stopping Brandon King as he brought up his 10th T20I fifty, off only 26 deliveries, to power West Indies to 64/1 in the powerplay. The captain Brandon King struck six maximums during his stay while Kyle Mayers also cleared the fence regularly as West Indies crossed the 100-run mark in the 10th over.
West Indies’ middle order gives way as they finish to 175 for 8 after 20 overs
After Brandon King’s start, West Indies should have been eyeing a total above 200 but their middle order was unable to back up their stand-in captain’s start. No-one from Andre Fletcher down was able to get into double figures and Matthew Forde’s 5 was the highest score outside the top four.
Fletcher and Fabian Allen were guilty of trying to play Phehlukwayo across the line and were bowled and trapped lbw respectively, while Akeal Hossein and Forde were deceived by Baartman’s variations. Hossein was bowled by a wobble seam delivery and Forde pulled a knuckle ball square of the wicket. Motie’s run-out in the final over meant West Indies lost 6 for 40 in the final third of their innings.
But West Indies lost regular wickets in the second half of their innings, with Andile Phehlukwayo (3-28) doing the bulk of the damage, as they slipped to 137/5 in the 15th over. Roston Chase scored a useful 32 not out but he took 30 deliveries for those runs as South Africa kept West Indies in check in the death overs with wickets, with only 32 coming off the last five. Baartman finished with 3-26.
Matthew Forde strikes to get his 1st International wicket
After figures of 0 for 54 in his first T20I, against England last December, Forde may have wondered if he was due to chase leather again when de Kock hit his first ball for four. It was a remarkably timed shot, with no footwork at all, as de Kock struck Forde straight down the ground. But the young West Indian had the perfect riposte.
His next delivery was wide of off stump, de Kock neglected to move his feet again and nicked behind. De Kock’s dismissal for 4 meant that he has only crossed fifty three times in 30 innings, all in T20s, since his ODI retirement last November and has a top score of 12 from his last five trips to the crease.
South Africa lost Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton early in the chase, with Forde and Chase delivering key strikes. Matthew Breetzke struck three fours in an over off Akeal Hossein followed by a boundary off Shamar Joseph but the pacer trapped him in front for 19, with South Africa at 46/3 at the end of the powerplay. Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen tried to build a partnership but South Africa had a lot of work to do, having reached 77/3 after 10 overs.
Another Hendricks half-century in vain as West Indies won the match by 28 runs
Hendricks controversially missed out on a spot in South Africa’s starting XI at the 2022 T20 World Cup despite scoring four fifties in succession in the lead-up because he could not displace captain Temba Bavuma. But there should be no reason for him not to start the tournament this time.
His 87 was his 10th T20 half-century of 2024 and 49th in his career and was the standout knock in a disappointing South African batting performance. He was the only player to score more than 20. The highlights of his performance were the way he timed the ball early on and then showed off his power hitting towards the end, albeit too late to take South Africa over the line.
Already having an upper hand in the contest, West Indies gained further advantage thanks to a double-wicket over from Motie, who dismissed van der Dussen and Wiaan Mulder in the 11th. Hendricks brought up a fighting 32-ball fifty but wickets fell around him as Motie finished with 3-25 while Obed McCoy picked up two wickets to reduce South Africa to 108/8. Hendricks tried to keep the fight going but with 39 needed off the final over, South Africa were well behind and Forde helped himself to a couple of wickets to finish with 3-27.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Rassie Van Der Dussen the loosing skipper said : I think we took a bit of time to get into the match. They won the game in the first 10. This was a 150 par score wicket. The surface played a bit different than anticipated and we took a bit long to adjust, we’ll take the learnings. It has been a long few days of travelling. (On Phehlukwayo) In conditions like this, it is very tough to score off him. His cricket in the last year has been very pleasing to see.
(On Baartman) He summed up the conditions the earliest, skiddy bowler who is lethal in these low bounce conditions. Glad he could get the debut today after a few months. Me and Reeza were going well in the middle, but the spinners bowled really well.
(On Hendricks) He’s a world class act, brings a lot of experience and calmness. Showed us exactly how to bat on a wicket like this. I think we need to react and adapt a bit quicker to conditions. Especially against world class players, or they will make us pay.
Brandon King the winning West Indies skipper and Player of the match for his 79 runs said : Leading up to a World Cup, happy to play good cricket. I have the advantage of conditions, so I tried to give the side a good start. I think at the midway point, we wanted 200-220 but this was a difficult pitch to bat on so we were pretty confident.
(On Motie) He is a smart, skillful bowler who varies his pace very well. Fordie has a lot of confidence as a player, good to see him get a good start today. The group of guys are coming from a training camp, and we want to play a solid brand of cricket. Very happy with the performance today.
Home boy Brandon King, captaining in place of Rovman Powell, set the tone with an aggressive 45-ball 79. He also shared in a 79-run second-wicket partnership with Kyle Mayers, who is not in the T20 World Cup squad. King was the mainstay as West Indies built a healthy platform with scores of 64 for 1 in the Powerplay and 109 for 1 at the halfway stage, but they lost 6 for 40 between the 14th and final over to finish on 175 for 8.
South Africa will have been encouraged with their bowling comeback, especially the early signs from Ottniel Baartman. On T20I debut, Baartman dismissed Johnson Charles early on but then pulled up in his delivery stride after 10 balls, with what looked like a left knee niggle. However, he completed the over and went on to take 3 for 26. Allrounder Andile Phehlukwayo also finished with three wickets in his quota of four overs.
South Africa’s much talked-about top order was reduced to 35 for 3 in the fifth over and neither Quinton de Kock nor Ryan Rickelton made it into double figures with the latter struggling to find the boundary. While West Indies hit seven fours and eight sixes in the first 10 overs, South Africa scored eight fours and one six.
South Africa needed 99 runs off the last 10 overs and though Reeza Hendricks went on a career-best 87 off 51 balls, his surge came too late. Gudakesh Motie’s 3 for 25 and Obed McCoy’s 2 for 15 meant South Africa were too far behind and eventually dismissed for 147 in the final over.
A comprehensive win for West Indies as they brush aside South Africa by 28 runs. Their stand-in skipper Brandon King set the tone with a fiery knock of 79 that saw them race off the blocks. South Africa’s bowlers did well to fight back and restrict West Indies to 175, when 200 plus looked on the cards at one stage. In reply, South Africa kept losing wickets at regular intervals, and nobody could play around Reeza Hendricks.
The opener was fighting a lone battle, as he notched up his highest T20I score, but the hosts were in the ascendency as they kept picking up wickets. Motie bowled a dreamy spell of 3/25 as he made the most of the grip available on the surface, while Matthew Forde capped off the game with two wickets in the final over of the game. So West Indies pick up a thumping win and take a 1-0 lead in this series. These teams meet again at the same venue on Saturday and West Indies without their main team is already looking a dangerous side.