Purposeful fast bowling from Andre Nel and their opponents' continued wretched batting in the second innings propelled South Africa to an innings and 86-run triumph over West Indies to reclaim the Sir Vivian Richards Trophy on Sunday.
Nel claimed six wickets for 32 runs from 16.2 overs, as West Indies, trailing South Africa by 252 runs on first innings, were dismissed for a modest 166 in their second innings about 50 minutes after tea on the penultimate day of the Test, to give the visitors an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the four-match series.
The first Test at Georgetown ended in a draw and South Africa won the second Test at Port of Spain by eight wickets. The fourth and final Test at St. John's begins on Friday.
PHOTO: AFP
Nel put South Africa in command when he dismantled the West Indies batting and claimed the two "big fish" -- Brian Lara and West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul -- on his way to match figures of 10 wickets for 88 runs that earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.
West Indies wicketkeeper and batsman Courtney Browne however, used the opportunity to hit five fours and four sixes in his highest Test score of 66 from 75 in a little over one-and-three-quarter hours.
The West Indies' decline however, was swift and, as they say in these parts, "they did not last as long as a sno-cone."
Makhaya Ntini, Nel's new-ball partner, snuffed the early life out of the West Indies' fightback with two wickets in the same over before lunch.
The visitors strengthened their grip on the match when Ntini removed opening batsmen Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan off successive balls, before Nel added the wicket of left-hander Wavell Hinds to leave West Indies at 36 for three at lunch.
In his third over, Ntini had Gayle caught at first slip for five nibbling at the short, rising fifth ball outside off-stump, and Sarwan was caught at third slip for a duck off the next delivery fending off a another short-ball that took the shoulder of the bat.
Next over, Nel struck with the second ball, when Hinds, playing defensively forward, was caught at third slip for 11. All three wickets fell with the total on 17.
By the time tea arrived, South Africa were within sight of victory and the Sir Vivian trophy, and the writing was on the wall for the West Indies. Four wickets, two to Nel, saw West Indies lose their way and crumble to 119 for seven at the break.
After the lunch interval, Nel started his rampage when he snared Lara and Chanderpaul, the home team's two most experienced batsmen, in successive overs in an inspired spell of fast bowling.
He had Lara and Chanderpaul both adjudged lbw for 31 and 13 respectively, both playing back to well-pitched deliveries to knock the wind out of the West Indies' sails.
When Jacques Kallis added the wicket of Dwayne Bravo caught behind for six edging a backfoot drive, and left-arm spin bowler Nicky Boje had left-hander Ryan Hinds caught at backward square leg for 15 top-edging a sweep just prior to the break, there was little room for a comeback script for the West Indies.
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