After an embarrassing eight-wicket defeat in the 1st T20I at St George’s, Grenada, South Africa have turned the table in their favour by winning the next two matches. They will now be eyeing to wrap up the five-match series when they take on West Indies on 1 July, in the fourth T20I on the same venue.
The South African bowlers were impressive in the last two games against a fearsome batting line-up. They successfully defended totals of under 170 on both occasions. In their last encounter, they beat West Indies by a solitary run in a nail-biter.
Riding on Quinton de Kock’s 51-ball 72 and Rassie van der Dussen’s 24-ball 32, South Africa had posted 167/8 after being asked to bat. Obed McCoy returned his career-best 4-22, while Dwayne Bravo claimed 3-25.
In reply, Evin Lewis (27 runs in 21 balls) and Lendl Simmons (22 in 22) got West Indies off to a brisk task, adding 55 runs in 6.5 overs. Tabraiz Shamsi (4-0-13-2) then restricted the runs and got both Lewis and Shimron Hetmyer (17 in 10).
Nicholas Pooran struggled throughout his 28-ball 27 before falling to Anrich Nortje (2-29) in the penultimate over. Despite a late cameo from Fabian Allen (14* in 9), West Indies fell a run short to the target as they closed on 166/7.
Kieron Pollard has won all the toss opted to field all three times in the series. If he wins again, he may look to bat, considering the recent match results. However, the match can have a delayed start as the local Met department hinted that there is a possibility of rain.
Head to Head
South Africa have played West Indies 13 times. They have won eight, and lost five.
Probable XIs
West Indies: Andre Fletcher, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Kieron Pollard (c), Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Kevin Sinclair
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma (c), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, George Linde, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Anrich Nortje
Prediction
West Indies to win the contest, and level the series.