Captain Aiden Markram led from the front with a blistering 82* while Kagiso Rabada found his rhythm with the ball to dismantle the Windies. Photo: AFP
Image: AFP
With their dominant nine-wicket victory over the West Indies in Ahmedabad on Thursday, South Africa have one foot in the semi-finals stage of the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
Here, Ongama Gcwabe highlights five big moments from the contest.
South Africa's opening pair has been in red-hot form in the ongoing World Cup, with the pair having now registered four 50-plus partnerships.
On Thursday, the duo blasted 95 runs inside the opening eight overs of the run chase as they put the West Indies bowlers to the sword. Considering they set the tempo and the foundation for the middle-order batters, their partnership remains vital to South Africa's chances of returning home with the trophy.
It is better to lead with action in the field and follow suit off it by finding the right words for the team. At the moment, Markram is doing both well. He muscled his way to an unbeaten 82 runs off 46 deliveries, including seven fours and four sixes, on Thursday.
With that knock, Markram brought up his third half-century of the tournament as he continued his rich vein of form. With the leader of the team oozing confidence, South Africa is the team to beat in this showpiece event.
It has been a long time coming, but Kagiso Rabada finally delivered a standout performance in Ahmedabad. He bowled fast, hit his lines and lengths well, and was rewarded for his efforts.
The fast bowler walked away with figures of 2/22 in his four overs, accounting for Shimron Hetmyer and Shai Hope — the West Indies' most dangerous batters at the moment. With Rabada gathering form, South Africa's bowling attack will be difficult to deal with for the remainder of the tournament.
The West Indies might have lost on Thursday, and lost convincingly; however, they can walk away with their heads held high. No matter the situation, the Caribbean side stayed true to what makes them the world's most entertaining team: attacking the opposition.
When South Africa picked up four wickets in the first powerplay, every West Indies batter who came to the crease played their shots freely, scoring 52/4 in the opening six overs.
When the West Indies found themselves on 83/7 in the 11th over, Jason Holder knew he had to talk to the incoming Romario Shepherd to emphasise the need to slow down and absorb the pressure.
Shepherd followed suit, and the pair took the game deep before exploding in the back end of the innings. Holder (49) and Shepherd (52 not out) added a world-record 89 for the eighth wicket, taking the West Indies to a respectable 176/8.
Ongama Gcwabe is a prominent sports journalist. Writing for Independent Media as a senior contributor, he is recognised for his expertise in SA cricket.