South Africa made a giant leap towards the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup after a dominant nine-wicket win over the West Indies on Thursday.
A scintillating opening partnership of 95 runs between captain Aiden Markram (82 not out) and Quinton de Kock (47) in eight overs made short work of the chase. Ryan Rickelton added an unbeaten 45 as South Africa cruised to 177 for one in 16.1 overs and extended their unbeaten record in the tournament to six matches. West Indies reached 176 for eight after being 83 for seven.
South Africa could top the Super 8s in Group 1 if they beat Zimbabwe in their final match on Sunday when the West Indies face India.
Markram set the tone for the chase by hitting seven fours and four sixes in his 82 off 46 balls. De Kock hit four sixes and four fours in his 24-ball 47. Rickelton maintained the quick score with 45 off 28 balls. He and Markram shared an unbroken score of 82 and South Africa won by more than three overs for the fourth time in Ahmedabad.
The lone wicket was taken by all-rounder Roston Chase, who was called up to the playing XI in place of spinner Akeal Hosein.
Fast bowlers Romario Shepherd and Jason Holder could not bowl West Indies to victory after battering their side to respectability. Shepherd (52 not out) and Holder (49) beat West Indies from an embarrassing 83 for seven with a remarkable 89-run stand, in which Shepherd notched his maiden T20 international half-century.
In a hectic powerplay, West Indies lost four wickets in 11 balls and were 52 for four. South Africa also dropped three catches in the first six overs.
Kagiso Rabada (two for 22) was given a tenuous lead by the West Indian captain, Shai Hope, and also took the wicket of Shimron Hetmyer, who edged a pull to wicketkeeper De Kock in the third over. Lungi Ngidi (three for 30) dismissed Brandon King and Chase in the fourth over.
Holder and Shepherd pressed the accelerator during the death overs. Holder defeated Marco Jansen for 23 runs in the 18th, before being eliminated in the final. Shepherd completed his half-century with an inside edge off the final ball of the innings, but South Africa kept the score under par.
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