West indies v South Africa © Getty Images
West Indies won the toss and elected to bowl first in their T20I contest against South Africa at the Brian Lara Academy in Torouba, Trinidad on Tuesday.
The third and final match of the series is South Africa’s last opportunity to register a victory in six matches over three months. The visitors trail the hosts 0 – 2 in the three-match series.
The series might be lost, but the process has not yet failed. Rob Walter’s concern coming into the series was to build depth. As part of that process, the Proteas coach would love to see a better all-round performance from his batters. The Proteas coach made two changes to the side that played the first two encounters, bringing in Jason Smith and Wiaan Mulder.
In the first match, South Africa’s top order failed to launch and they had to be bailed out by the middle order to reach a decent total. In the second encounter, the top order provided a good platform but the middle order faltered. In the third encounter, Walter will hope that the batters will all fire in a single match. Another area of concern for the visitors will be their boundary-hitting. South Africa’s batters have struck less than half the sixes their opponents have.
The positive from the series for the visitors has been the recovery by South Africa’s inexperienced bowlers. Their pace attack is led by Lizaad Williams, who has 12 caps. The next most capped is Ottniel Baartman with 8. The duo has stepped up and seen to it that West Indies’ big hitters do not blast South Africa out of the park. Their new addition, Kwena Maphaka has shown skill and composure, complimenting them.
West Indies come into the tie hunting a second 3 – 0 series win in three months. Darren Sammy’s side defeated South Africa by the same margin just before the 2024 T20 World Cup. Sammy wants to develop his side into a championship-winning team and is expecting his side to be ruthless in the final match of the series.
WEST INDIES: Shai Hope, Alick Athanaze, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Roston Chase (capt), Shimron Hetmyer, Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde, Akeal Hosein, Fabian Allen, Gudakesh Motie, Obed McCoy
SOUTH AFRICA: Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Aiden Markram (capt), Tristan Stubbs, Jason Smith, Wiaan, Patrick Kruger, Bjorn Fortuin, Ottneil Baartman, Lizaad Williams, Kwena Maphaka
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