RSA 122/8 (20.0 Ovs)
WI 123/7 (19.4 Ovs)
West Indies won by 3 wkts
So that ends a tight game of cricket. Faf looked really disappointed at losing this one. He knows that they have made life really difficult for themselves to make it to the last four. A few more runs on the board would have been handy. Anyway, the tournament moves on and we have another double-header coming up tomorrow. First, New Zealand and Bangladesh face off in Kolkata, before England and Sri Lanka square off in Delhi. Looking forward to your company for both games. Goodbye!
Faf: "It felt like we were just behind the whole game and we were catching up. We did well to get it close in the end. Needed 10 more runs, it was a 135 deck. West Indies were a little better than us today. It is always important for the senior players to step up and they need to be there. Me and Hash (Amla) play the anchor and the others play around us. They (West Indies) put us under pressure and it was a bit frantic in the first six overs with the bat. We didn't know what a good score was on the wicket and lost 5-10 runs there, which might have cost us the game. No party for us tonight (smiles). We will be looking at other results. We were not at our best and when you are not playing great cricket, you can't expect to reach the semifinal. If we sneak in, it would be great."
Sammy: "I would agree with you (referring to him being nervous). I was smiling because of the situation. We came here to take one step and that is to qualify and we have done that. We are really happy. There were two left-handers in the middle, I backed Gayle to do it. We started well and we have been putting pressure on the opposition. I am really excited about my team and everytime they respond. Today we were under pressure and once again they responded. We have to really celebrate this win. It was a tough win and wins don't come often for us."
Samuels: "Sometimes you have to bat according to the situation. My job was to go out there and build partnerships with my partners. Once I am set, I know one over can change the game. Not bat differently, if Gayle and Charles get going early, then I can come in and step on the gas as I did against England. It was a bit on the slower side and credit to South African bowlers for bowling well. The bowlers are doing a wonderful job and hopefully they can carry right through. Badree and Benn have bowled well and we have managed to get early wickets. We have a mix of different players in the team."
Marlon Samuels is the Man of the Match
There was a big break in play after 16 overs when the umpires decided to change the ball. The groundsmen also used the opportunity to absorb a bit of dew on the outfield. After a longish break, West Indies lost the plot as Tahir bagged two-in-two to bring the Proteas back. Wiese followed it up with a good 18th over, but Samuels managed two streaky boundaries in the penultimate over to ease a few nerves. When Rabada began the last over with a dot, West Indies were under serious pressure but Brathwaite muscled a six next ball to make it a formality from there on. With this loss, things are not fully in South Africa's hands. They not only need to win against Sri Lanka, but also have to hope that Sri Lanka would beat England.
Faf almost gets emotional as the players shake hands. South Africa fought hard, but they didn't have enough runs. West Indies have managed to seal this in the end. They should have won comfortably for the situation they were in earlier. Anyway, those two points are in their bag and they progress to the next round. Chasing a modest total, the crowd roared when Gayle hit a first-ball four, but Rabada castled him next ball to get South Africa off to a good start. A mix-up saw Fletcher walking back. Charles swung at the ball and managed a few hits to the fence before throwing it away. Bravo came and went but Samuels dropped anchor at one end.
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