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Pooran, Shepherd blow Proteas away

olympics28 August 2024 00:00| © MWP
By:CS Chiwanza
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Nicholas Pooran starred with the bat, while Romario Shepherd was exceptional with the ball as the West Indies cantered to an 8-wicket win over South Africa. The hosts romped to 116/2 in 9.2 overs. The two sides locked horns in a T20I match at the Brian Lara Academy in Torouba, Trinidad, on Tuesday.

The victory sealed a series whitewash for the hosts, who recorded a 3 - 0 win.

Shepherd, who took two wickets for 14 runs in two overs, played an integral part in restricting South Africa to a gettable total. The visitors, who were asked to bat first, managed to get to 108/4 in 13 overs in a truncated encounter. West Indies' target was revised to 116 in 13 overs as per the Duckworth-Lewis method.

The match was reduced to 13 overs a side after two rain delays, one before the start of the encounter, and the other, an interruption 4.3 overs into the South African innings. Under the revised playing conditions, the powerplay was reduced to four overs and teams were allowed a maximum of five bowlers, three of whom were allowed three overs each and the other two overs each.

Pooran put on a masterclass in power-hitting as he set the platform for his side. The left-hander registered a strike rate of 269 during his 13-ball stay at the crease. He launched two fours and four sixes on his way to an imperious 35.

Pooran began his innings with a six and continued in that vein. The left-hander was taking on whatever bowler Aiden Markram turned to. Pooran arrived at the crease at the tailend of the first over, after Bjorn Fortuin had dismissed Alick Athanaze.

His partner, Shai Hope, who won the Player of the Series award, did not take long before he joined in the six-hitting. When the duo registered their 50-run partnership in 15 deliveries, they had yet to hit a four. At that point, all their boundaries were sixes. The partnership was eventually broken when Ottniel Baartman dismissed Pooran, however, by then the damage had already been done. The West Indies were on 60/2 after 3.5 overs.

Hope and his new partner, Shimron Hetmyer, had no trouble in seeing the West Indies past the finishing line. The pair constructed an unbeaten 56-run partnership that guided them to victory. Hope scored an outstanding 42 off 24, while Hetmyer was equally brilliant with an unbeaten 31 off 17.

South Africa's inexperienced bowling attack had no answers to the marauding trio, against whom they conceded a combined seven fours and nine sixes. Only Patrick Kruger and Bjorn Fortuin conceded runs at less than 10 runs an over. Fortuin took one wicket for eight runs in his solitary over and Kruger went wicketless in his 2.2 overs, where he conceded 21 runs at nine runs an over.

During South Africa's innings, Tristan Stubbs put on another display of his T20 skills when he scored a quick-fire 40 off 15 balls. He arrived at the crease in the 10th over with South Africa in desperate need of brilliance and blasted his way to 40 off 15 deliveries in a blistering knock that featured five fours and three sixes. The 24-year-old was unstoppable in this innings, alternating between fours and sixes. He shared a 40-run partnership with debutant Jason Smith, in which Stubbs contributed 39 runs.

Stubbs' barnstorming knock came on the back of a fruitful second-wicket partnership between Ryan Rickelton (27) and Aiden Markram (20). The pair scored a momentum-building 38 runs off 25 deliveries. However, it was all a little too late.

Akeal Hosein and Matthew Forde, who bagged a single wicket each, were the other wicket-takers for the West Indies. Hosein took a single wicket for 11 runs in three overs, while Forde took one for 28 runs in three overs.

WEST INDIES: Shai Hope, Alick Athanaze, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Roston Chase (capt), Shimron Hetmyer, Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde, Akeal Hosein, Fabian Allen, Gudakesh Motie, Obed McCoy

SOUTH AFRICA: Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Aiden Markram (capt), Tristan Stubbs, Jason Smith, Wiaan, Patrick Kruger, Bjorn Fortuin, Ottneil Baartman, Lizaad Williams, Kwena Maphaka

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