The South African cricket team has advanced to the T20 World Cup semi-finals with a thrilling three-wicket victory over co-hosts West Indies. The match, played in Antigua, was a winner-takes-all Super 8s encounter to decide the final team to progress from Group 2.
South Africa was chasing a revised target of 123 on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method and faced some shaky moments but ultimately held their nerve to secure the win. Marco Jansen’s six with five balls remaining sealed the victory for the Proteas. Despite restricting West Indies to 135-8 earlier in the match, South Africa found themselves under pressure when Andre Russell struck twice early in their innings.
A sudden rain delay saw the players off the field for 75 minutes before South Africa returned with a new target from 17 overs. A flurry of boundaries helped them regain control, but the West Indies kept fighting back with Roston Chase taking three crucial wickets. With the game on a knife-edge and South Africa needing nine runs from seven balls, Kagiso Rabada’s boundary followed by Jansen’s winning shot in the final over secured the win.
South Africa’s spinners, particularly Tabraiz Shamsi with figures of 3-28, played a key role in restricting the West Indies earlier in the match. The Proteas finished on top of Group 2, with England in second place. They will face
