Despite having two more games left in the round-robin stage, the West Indies were eliminated from contention for a berth in the final as South Africa easily defeated them by the score of 10-wickets on Wednesday (January 25) in their T20I tri-series match. West Indies only achieved 97/6, and the hosts just needed 13.4 overs to reach the goal before the openers for South Africa took off.
When West Indies decided to bat, they lost Rashada Williams and Shemaine Campbelle within the first five overs with just five runs scored. In the first five deliveries, Nonkululeko Mlaba and Masabata Klaas bowled three maidens, and West Indies only scored six runs throughout the powerplay.
Britney Cooper’s bat hit the first four in the seventh over, and then Shabika Gajnabi hit two consecutive fours off Annerie Dercksen in the tenth. However, West Indies were only able to reach 29 at the midway point for the loss of three wickets.
While Mlaba finished with impressive numbers of 1 for 7 from her four overs, Hayley Matthews knocked a few balls over the fence. Shabika Gajnabi helped Matthews establish a strong partnership as they added 61 runs off 53 deliveries for the fifth wicket. However, West Indies were unable to surpass the 100-run threshold due to their subpar batting in the first half.
With the help of the powerplay, which featured six fours between the two openers, Tazmin Brits and Laura Wolvaardt steadily pursued the goal and scored 36 runs. By the time the chase was over, Brits had hit a total of seven fours and a six, finishing undefeated on 50 off 43, while Wolvaardt had smashed six fours in her battings of 42 not out of 39.
The fifth game of the tri-series will pit South Africa against India, and then West Indies will play the Harmanpreet Kaur-led team. However, since South Africa and India will be competing in the final on February 2, the games will just provide them with more practice.
The Scores
West Indies 97/6 in 20 overs (Hayley Matthews 34, Shabika Gajnabi 33; Tumi Sekhukhune 2-24, Nonkululeko Mlaba 1-7) lost to South Africa 98/0 in 13.4 overs (Tazmin Brits 50*, Laura Wolvaardt 42*) by 10 wickets.
