Nicholas Pooran smashes quickfire 65* as West Indies beat South Africa
Match Summary:
- West Indies beat South Africa by 7 wickets in the first T20I of a three-match series at Trinidad.
- It was a man of all Nicholas Pooran scored 65 off just 26 balls* and won his team.
- Despite an aggressive 76 off 42 balls from South Africa’s Tristan Stubbs, West Indies comfortably chased down the target.
South Africa’s Innings:
Batting first, South Africa posted 174/7 in its allotted 20 overs.
The gone were the times when they lost wickets in a cluster early on, 42/5 being especially bad at one stage.
Fellow openers Tristan Stubbs and Patrick Kruger (44) steadied the ship.
West Indies 232 for six (Pooran 65*) Batsmen will undoubtedly sometimes get runs if conditions do not begin to alter continuously. all the way is proud of what he does by yourself and down from struggles in bliss alone that this series could bring a real teaser but hang on there are four?
Put in to bat first after a brief rain delay, a new-look South African team suffered a setback in the second over itself as Matthew Forde struck on his second delivery of the match to have Ryan Rickelton caught behind. Aiden Markram counter-attacked with a six and four off Akeal Hosein, but Forde returned to send the South African skipper packing for 10-ball 14. Shamar Joseph then struck off the first balls of his first two overs to leave the visitors in tatters at 33/4 at the start of the seventh over. Eleven overs down, South Africa was progressing at merely five RPO with half their side back in the hut.
However, both Stubbs and Patrick Kruger had got their eye in, and the pair started to switch gears. Kruger was the aggressor at the start, welcoming Roston Chase into the attack with a six and a four, thereby breaking a dry spell of 29 deliveries. When Romario Shepherd returned, in the 14th over, Kruger went 4,2,0,0,6,4 to make it an expensive one and also bring up the half-century of his partnership with Stubbs. However, just as the slog-overs began, South Africa lost a well-set Kruger only six away from a half-century, giving Forde his third wicket.
Stubbs, who was playing a second fiddle until then, decided to take charge and slammed the best West Indies bowler on the day with back-to-back fours to make it an expensive end to his otherwise very impressive spell of 3-27. The batter reached his fifty in 33 deliveries, at the start of a seemingly never-ending 19th over from Joseph that went for 24 runs and included as many as three no-balls. Before Shepherd could dismiss him on the penultimate ball of South Africa’s innings, Stubbs slammed two fours and a massive 98-ball six off a full-toss to help his side finish with a competitive total.
West Indies chase
West Indies were ruthless in their pursuit of the target with the openers combining for an 84-run partnership that came at more than 10 RPO. A quiet opening over later, both Alick Athanaze and Shai Hope decided to step on the gas as the hosts posted 75/0 in the PowerPlay alone, including a 20-run over from Nandre Burger and a 21-run first over from skipper Markram. Otteneil Baartman provided the much-needed breakthrough, denying Athanaze his fifty by 10 runs.
