Tue Jan 27 ’26 by KRISSANIA YOUNG
South Africa 176 for 1 (Markram 86*, Pretorius 44, Chase 1-31) beat West Indies 173 for 7 (Hetmyer 48, King 27, Linde 3-25) with 9 wickets
Another dark square was added to West Indies’ checkered preparation ahead of the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on Tuesday, following their 9-wicket loss to South Africa in the first T20I at Boland Park. Despite handy blows from Shimron Hetmyer and Brandon King, the Caribbean side’s failure to accelerate at the death proved decisive.
With consecutive boundaries off Kagiso Rabada’s first over, Brandon King set the tone for Windies’ opening partnership alongside Johnson Charles. The pair shared a 39-run stand off 23 balls before Charles was bowled by Keshav Maharaj for 13 in the 4th over.
Charles’ wicket was the first of three the visitors lost in three overs. King was the next to fall, bowled by Corbin Bosch for 27 (16 balls), followed by Sherfane Rutherford, who was cleared by Maharaj for 6, with 50 runs on the board in the sixth.
West Indies sent on all-rounder Matthew Forde for Shimron Hetmyer at No. 5. He hit two sixes in his 12-ball 16 before he too fell to Bosch for four in the ninth on 79.
Stand-in captain Roston Chase (22 off 18) was removed by Linde trying to accelerate after the drinks break, allowing Rovman Powell to join Hetmyer in what would be the West Indies’ most fruitful partnership. They added 74 off 50 balls for the sixth wicket, laying the foundation for a strong finish.
Hetmyer hit three sixes and four boundaries on his way to an innings-restoring 32-ball 48. Powell, meanwhile, managed 29 off 25 balls as he struggled to keep pace with the wicket. With Hetmyer and Powell at the crease, West Indies aimed for a total of over 180, with the score at 134 for 5 after 15 overs.
However, South Africa’s death bowling was run like a well-oiled machine, built on an abundance of slower deliveries, and the Caribbean side found it difficult to get out of second gear, scoring just 39 runs from the last five overs (19 in the last three) to finish at 173 for 7 from their allotment.
For every risk and muscle shot the West Indies faced in their innings, the South African openers countered with needle-threading precision and timing. Or so it felt.
Captain Aiden Markram and Lhuan-dre Pretorius scored 83 off 47 balls for a first-wicket partnership in which it seemed the only unintended runs were added on 51 for no loss when Hosein denied Jason Holder the wicket of Markram on 27 in the fifth over and the pair came through for a single.
When Chase had Pretorius caught at deep midwicket for a 28-ball 44 in the 8th over, the pace required was just 7.5. Ryan Rickelton (40*) then joined Markram (86*), and the pair needed just 60 balls to score the remaining 91 runs as the hosts raced home at 176 for one with 13 balls remaining.
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