T20 World Cup 2021 | South Africa vs West Indies – Aiden Markram stars as South Africa get off the mark

The cricket was excellent, but off-field issues hogged headlines in South Africa's clash against West Indies. There may have been quite a bit of noise in the South African dressing room in the lead-up to the game. Quinton de Kock pulled out of the game after Cricket South Africa (CSA) ‘unanimously agreed to issue a directive’ to all the players to take a knee at the start of the game in respect of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

But Temba Bavuma and his men shut out all the noise and produced a clinical performance to get back on track in this ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. The Proteas first restricted West Indies to just 143/8 before chasing it down without too many hiccups.

After being put into bat, West Indies got off to a very sluggish start. Evin Lewis and Lendl Simmons could muster a mere six runs from the first three overs as part-time off-spinner Aiden Markram conceded just four runs in his first two overs, which also included a maiden.

It was Lewis who then put the foot down on the accelerator and lifted West Indies to 43/0 at the end of the powerplay. Even after the field spread out, he kept going and found the boundaries regularly. From 1 (9), the left-handed opener raced away to a 33-ball fifty but he was dismissed not too long after he reached the milestone. Keshav Maharaj was the one who got South Africa the much-needed breakthrough.

All this while, Simmons only helped himself to 13 off 28 balls and there was barely any intent of going out on the attack. Nicholas Pooran came in and struck a couple of boundaries before he fell against the left-arm spin of Maharaj as well in the 13^th over. Simmons’ misery came to an end in the 14^th over as Kagiso Rabada knocked him over with a slower one.

West Indies managed just nine runs between overs 12 to 15 and they lost two wickets as well. Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard hit Tabraiz Shamsi for a six each in the 16^th over but they couldn’t really force the pace at the back end as the Proteas bowlers used their variations really well. Gayle, Pollard and Andre Russell came out swinging but couldn’t really make an impact.

Eventually, West Indies could muster only 143/8 in their 20 overs. Dwaine Pretorius bowled two out of the last three overs and picked up 3/17.

In reply, South Africa didn’t have a great start as Temba Bavuma was runout in the very first over. However, Reeza Hendricks played a very good hand as he made use of the fielding restrictions and lifted South Africa to 42/1 in the powerplay. He was dismissed in the 10^th over for 39 and at that stage, South Africa’s score read 61/2.

West Indies may have thought they might have an opening and they can put pressure on the South African middle-order. However, Aiden Markram walked out and batted beautifully. Despite having a struggling Rassie van der Dussen at the other end, Markram didn’t allow the required rate to get out of hand. He kept finding the ropes which helped the Proteas stay ahead of the rate.

Markram smashed a half-century in just 25 balls (two fours and four sixes) and guided South Africa home with 10 balls to spare. He shared an unbeaten 83-run stand (off 54 balls) with van der Dussen who helped himself to an unbeaten 43 off 51 deliveries.

Final Score:

West Indies 143/8 in 20 overs (Evin Lewis 56, Kieron Pollard 26, Dwaine Pretorius 3/17, Keshav Maharaj 2/24) lost to South Africa 144/2 in 18.2 overs (Aiden Markram 51*, Rassie van der Dussen 43*, Akeal Hosein 1/27)