South Africa wins compensatory T20 series against West Indies
After a disappointing performance in the World T20 Championship South Africa defeated the West Indies in the series which followed immediately after the tournament.
Playing two low scoring encounters, South Africa defeated the hosts easily in the first match while ending the other match by one run in their favour. The first match saw the gloves worn by AB Devilliers instead of Boucher for the Proteas while the West Indies went in with the familiar faces. Two new players in the form of Mclaren and Peterson were also seen in the South African outfit.
West Indies won the toss and elected to field first as South Africa posted a measly 136 on the board. Smith finally came to terms with his form and scored a good 36 runs from 31 balls. However the innings of the match came from reliable Kallis who made 53 runs to push the Proteas total to 136.
The Windies chase was a huge disappointment as no batsman managed to hold their ground against the pace attack of South Africa. The addition of Mclaren amongst the ranks of Steyn added a new spark to the attack which seemed redundant in the World T20. Mclaren ended up taking a rare 5 wicket haul in T20 cricket. Windies were knocked out by the impressive bowling of the Proteas at the score of 123.
The second T20 was a different affair though. In a match dominated by bowlers, West Indies were well on top when it came to their bowling. They restricted the strong batting line up of South Africa to a very low score of 120. Jeremy Taylor and Sammy bowled miserly while taking regular wickets to restrict the green shirts.
The crowd expected the Windies to easily chase the target but the bowling attack of South Africa again produced an excellent performance as they made sure that the Windies had to work really hard for every single run they score. After losing two early wickets the run chase was given a new meaning by the experienced duo of Dwane Bravo and Chanderpaul. At one time the Windies looked to cruise through till victory but Chandarpaul played a premeditated short to start the end of the West Indies. Taking regular catches and bowling tight lines, the South Africans made sure that a huge score of 15 was required of the last over. Darren Sammy tried to save the Windies by playing a six ball cameo but could only take his team to the score of 119, one run short of the first international super over decider.
The West Indies have a lot to prove in times to come as their game seemed below par during the recent tournaments. They managed to win a controversial match against England and defeated a disappointing India during the World T20, although they had the crowd support behind their back. These two defeats have further destroyed the hopes of the fans. Unless Chris Gayle and company get their acts together in the times to come, South Africa might be looking at a white wash against the team of the Caribbean.
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