West Indies Suffers Narrow Defeat to South Africa in T20 World Cup

West Indies missed out on qualification to the semi-finals of the International Cricket Council Men’s T20 World Cup after suffering a narrow three-wicket defeat against South Africa in their final Super Eight match early Monday morning.

South Africa, chasing a revised target of 123 in 17 overs, won a tense contest with five balls to spare to secure their berth in the last four after completing their third successive victory in Group 2 just before 1 a.m.

In a rain-affected match at the Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, West Indies made a gallant effort in the field after they were restricted to 135 for eight in their 20 overs.

Roston Chase produced a superb all-round performance, scoring an important half-century that helped West Indies recover from early trouble and grabbed three wickets with his off-spin to give them a fighting chance.

South Africa were 15 for two when rain interrupted the match for more than an hour and on resumption they needed a further 108 runs from 15 overs under the Duckworth/Lewis/Stern method.

Chase, who took three for 12 in three overs, joined with fast bowlers Alzarri Joseph and Andre Russell, who both collected two wickets in keeping West Indies in the match.

South Africa slipped from 77 for three in the eighth over to 110 for seven, leaving the equation at 13 runs from ten balls.

With nine runs needed from seven balls, Kagiso Rabada struck a vital boundary off Chase to send the match into the last over with five runs required.

West Indies’ fate was sealed when Marco Jansen lifted Obed McCoy down the ground for six from the first ball. The shot sent West Indies to their second defeat in three matches of the Super Eight stage and gave unbeaten South Africa their seventh straight win in the tournament.

Earlier, Chase linked up with Kyle Mayers to orchestrate a fightback for West Indies in a third wicket partnership of 81 after they lost Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran cheaply.

Chase made 52 off 42 balls and the left-handed Mayers, who only joined the squad on Saturday as a replacement for the injured Brandon King, scored 35 from 34 balls.

Once they were separated at 86 for three in the 12th over, West Indies lost wickets regularly, primarily against left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who took three for 27. (HG)