A thrilling burst of hitting by Andre Russell carried the West Indies to a one-wicket win over South Africa in the fourth one-day international at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, on Sunday.
Half-centuries by Marlon Samuels, Darren Sammy and Russell trumped a maiden international century by South Africa’s David Miller as the tourists chased down a victory target of 263 with nine balls to spare.
The West Indies gained their first win in the five-match series after they several times looked doomed to defeat.
Photo: AFP
They lost their first five wickets for 73 runs against what was effectively a second-string South Africa attack, before Samuels (68) and Sammy (51) put on 93 for the sixth wicket, but South Africa were favorites again when both partners were out with 74 needed off 64 balls with only three wickets standing.
Russell was striking the ball well, but skipper Jason Holder was caught off a full toss and Carlos Brathwaite was run out off the first ball of the 48th over to leave the tourists needing 24 off 17 balls with the last man at the wicket.
Sheldon Cottrell was able to steal a single and Russell hit sixes off the next two balls from left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso, then was able to get the strike to hit a four and a six off Kyle Abbott to finish the match.
He made 64 not out off 40 balls with five fours and five sixes.
“It means a lot,” Holder said. “We have had a tough tour, so to get across the line in this match is very special.”
It was a cruel result for the left-handed Miller, who made 130 not out and was responsible for a run-out and a leaping catch.
Miller came in with his side struggling at 32-3 in the seventh over. It became 76-4 when captain A.B. de Villiers was out for 19.
J.P. Duminy helped Miller add 90 for the fifth wicket, but it was hard going for South Africa’s batsmen against a much-improved West Indies bowling performance on a slow pitch which offered some seam movement.
Renowned for his big hitting at the end of an innings, Miller showed he could play a long, responsible innings as he reached his century off 122 balls, with nine fours, before launching an assault in which he added two more fours and three sixes off the last 11 balls he faced before the innings came to an end.
South Africa rested first-choice bowlers Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Imran Tahir to give their other World Cup squad members an opportunity, but they could not halt the West Indies late charge.
“We bowled some bad balls at the wrong time,” De Villiers said.
The final match of the series is tomorrow at Centurion near Pretoria.
Meanwhile, yesterday’s tri-series one-day international between Australia and India in Sydney was washed ouy by persistent rain.
After a delayed start due to steady drizzle, India, asked to bat first, reached 69-2 in 16 overs before rain fell again.
Shikhar Dhawan’s wretched form continued ahead of next month’s World Cup and the left-handed opener was out for 8, edging Mitchell Starc to Aaron Finch at slip, in a major worry for the defending champions.
Dhawan had scored 2 and 1 in the first two matches of the tournament.
Australia have already qualified for Sunday’s final in Perth with three wins from their three matches.
India and England, who have one win against the same opponents, will face off at the WACA in Perth on Friday, with the winners advancing to meet the hosts.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care