World Cup 2015, Highlights: Imran Tahir, AB de Villiers Help South Africa Crush West Indies by 257 Runs
South Africa bowled West Indies out for 151 and won by 257 runs in Sydney on Friday. Catch all the highlights here.
South Africa piled up 408/5 thanks to AB de Villiers' 162 off 66 balls before Imran Tahir picked 5/45 as West Indies collapsed to a humiliating defeat at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Catch all the highlights here (Live Scorecard | Fixtures | History | Stats):
3:46 PM IST: WICKET! Morne Morkel takes the last wicket; removes Benn and West Indies are all out for 151; they lose by 257 runs, their biggest defeat in ODIs. What a comeback by the Proteas.
3:41 PM IST: WICKET! Steyn has struck to have the last laugh; removes Holder for 56 and West Indies are now one wicket away from one of the biggest defeats in ODI history.
3:38 PM IST: Holder is playing for pride; he brings up a maiden ODI fifty and then slams Steyn for SIX! as West Indies avoid the biggest defeat in World Cup history.
3:26 PM IST: West Indies have managed to avoid the heaviest defeat in ODI history. South Africa needed to get them out for 117 but that wasn't to be. However, if the Proteas bowl the Caribbean lads out for 150, it would be the biggest victory in World Cup history.
3:12 PM IST: WICKET! It is a five-for for Imran Tahir and very well-deserved too. He has knocked off Denesh Ramdin as West Indies slump to 108/8 in 26 overs; they are hurtling towards the biggest ever defeat in ODI history. Not sure if the South Africans are aware of the record because they have persisted with Faf du Plessis for a long time,
2:40 PM IST: WICKET! Tahir is weaving a magic spell around the West Indies; he removed Sammy (5) and Russell (0) in the 18th over to put South Africa firmly on the road to victory. WI are 63/7 in 18 overs chasing 409 for a win.
2:35 PM IST: West Indies are crashing to a heavy defeat here, by the look of things; five wickets gone by the 16th over with virtually nothing on the board. This is an astonishingly poor performance.
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2:17 PM IST: WICKET! Second one for Tahir in the same over as he sees off Lendl Simmons for a duck. West Indies are 53/5 in 12 overs and are virtually out of this contest.
2:14 PM IST: WICKET! Imran Tahir has struck off his first delivery to remove a well-set Dwayne Smith; West Indies' chase is crumbling here; at 52/4 in 11.1 overs. South Africa are outright favourites to win this one.
2:09 PM IST: WICKET! Smart catch by AB de Villiers as Carter falls to Morkel. West Indies are 52/3 off 11 overs and their chase is not going anywhere. They need 409 to win.
1:38 PM IST: WICKET! Abbott has been an inspired choice, stepping in for the injured Vernon Philander. He has now removed Marlon Samuels for a duck. West Indies have lost both their batsmen who dominated the Proteas' weaker neighbours barely a few days back; 16/2 in 3.3 overs
1:34 PM IST: South Africa's batting stars came to the party in a big way today; it's now the turn of their bowlers, who looked ordinary vs Zimbabwe and India. Can Steyn put behind him those shabby performances and turn bowl with spirit here? The stage is set for him. Massive total to defend and his new-ball partner has dismissed the most dangerous batsmen in the opposition ranks.
1:28 PM IST: Big, big moment in this match. Gayle is OUT, falls to Kyle Abbott for 3 as West Indies slump to 12/1 in 1.3 overs chasing 409 vs South Africa. The Proteas can breathe a huge sigh of relief but they cannot exactly relax yet; the Windies have some dangerous batsmen down the order.
1:24 PM IST: This should be an interesting chase given West Indies' batting line-up; Smith and Gayle are opening the innings and thanks to the former's six off Steyn, WI are 10/0 after the first over. This has so far shown to be a good pitch for batsmen and anything could happen if Gayle settles in.
12:54 PM IST: West Indies are stunned. De Villiers has just clobbered their captain Jason Holder for 30 runs in the last over as he finished with 162 not out in 66 balls; this is the fastest 150 in the history of ODI cricket. South Africa finished with 408/5, the highest ODI score on Australian soil and the second highest in World Cups.
12:44 PM IST: de Villiers has been merciless today; he of course loves this West Indian bowling attack. It was the same team that bore the brunt of his assault during the fastest hundred and today he hammered the secon-fastest hundred in World Cups. This is mayhem, utter mayhem.
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12:37 PM IST: De Villiers has hammered his 20th hundred; the second fastest in World Cup history. What a knock this has been from the South African captain; he took only 52 balls to get there. And this is the second fastest hundred in World Cup history.
12:17 PM IST: This has been superb batting by South Africa. They are 299/4 in 44 overs after recovering from an early hiccup. Once Amla and du Plessis settled down to add 127, they were removed in quick succession by Gayle before de Villiers and Rossouw added 134 in 12.3 overs .
12:01 PM IST: Fifty for AB de Villiers, his 44th in ODIs as South Africa reach a strong 258/3 at the end of 40 overs. The Proteas are headed for a massive total here and West Indies will need Chris Gayle to fire today.
11:54 AM IST: Second fifty for Rossouw. South Africa are 238/3 in the 39th over and with de Villiers looking strong as well at the other end, the Proteas are looking at a massive score. This has been a huge improvement from their performance vs India while the West Indies would be ruing missed chances after Gayle struck two crucial blows in the 30th over.
11:36 AM IST: South Africa have recovered well, thanks to a brisk stand between AB de Villiers and Riley Rossouw. The duo have scored 47 runs in six overs to power the Proteas to 194/3 in 36 overs. West Indies are running out of ideas very soon.
11:06 AM IST: South Africa were cruising along and looked set for a massive assault in the last 20 overs but Chris Gayle has picked up two wickets two balls. He first removed du Plessis for 62 before knocking off Amla for 65 and the Proteas were 147/3 by the end of 30 overs. What a moment in the match; both set batsmen fall to a part-time spinner. In the middle is AB de Villiers, who will be the marked man for Jason Holder's team.
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10:54 AM IST: du Plessis scores his 14th ODI fifty and South Africa are now dominating the West Indies; they are 126/1 in the 27th over.
10:46 AM IST: Fifty for Amla, his 28th overall. South Africa are in a comfortable position now and will look to dictate terms from hereon.
10:20 AM IST: West Indies have won only one of their last 18 ODIs vs South Africa - their last bilateral series was an overwhelming 4-1 win for the Proteas. It was also the same series where AB de Villiers smashed the fastest ODI hundred. Amla had scored an unbeaten 153 in the same match. But a lot has changed since January 18 - South Africa no longer look like such a threatening side while the West Indies are getting stronger by the day.
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10:10 AM IST: FOUR! Rare loose ball from Benn and Amla gives it the due treatment. He has a staggering record vs the West Indies and he'd be primed to score some big runs again today.
10:04 AM IST: The South African batsmen were criticised for playing too many shots too early vs India. Today, they would be under pressure to show their class against a West Indies attack that has been resilient. The fielding has been pretty sharp too, unlike a lot of other West Indian sides in the recent past. After 14 overs, South Africa are 49/1
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9:57 AM IST: Amla averages 94.66 vs West Indies in ODIs, his best against any country. Amla has scored4 tons and 3 fifties in 11 innings against the West Indies. So there could not have been a better opponent for Amla to fight his way back in the form.
9:43 AM IST: This has been a slow start for South Africa. And they will need to be watchful for sometime now, having lost an early wicket. Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis are in the middle and both batsmen are more than capable of upping the ante when they need to. Besides, they have AB de Villiers in next with the explosive David Miller to follow. There is no dearth of batting talent in their line-up. SA 29/1 off 9 overs
9:27 AM IST: After a slow start, South Africa have suffered their first blow. Jason Holder removed the dangerous Quinton de Kock as the Porteas slipped to 18/1 off 5.4 overs after deciding to bat. This is a great start for the West Indies, who are high on confidence after their two straight victories.
8:59 AM IST: The main duel today would be between Steyn and Gayle but that will have to wait. For now, Amla and de Kock walk out to middle. The SCG is not packed yet but one suspects it could start to fill up when it's Gayle's turns out to bat.
8:35 AM IST: South Africa opt to bat. They have also made three changes, leaving out Duminy, Philander and Parnell. Just one change for West Indies. Here are playing XIs:
South Africa 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Quinton de Kock, 3 Faf Du Plessis, 4 Rilee Russouw, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 David Miller, 7 Farhaan Behardien, 8 Kyle Abbott, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir
West Indies 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Dwayne Smith, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Jonathan Carter, 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Lendl Simmons, 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Andre Russell, 9 Jason Holder (capt), 10 Jerome Taylor, 11 Sulieman Benn
8:15 AM IST: Shaun Pollock does the pitch report and he says the SCG surface is a bit two-paced but the team batting first would still be pushing towards 300. Both teams today have some very powerful batsmen and a big total could set the game up nicely.
8:14 AM IST: Speaking of Gayle, he was a doubtful starter to this match but it seems like he would play. His old back problem had flared up after his efforts against Zimbabwe, but the hard-hitting left-handed batsman seems ready to take the field - he was seen warming-up with the rest of the side.
8:10 AM IST: South Africa take on the West Indies in a crucial Pool B match today. The Proteas were hot favourites for the World Cup but after a shaky win vs Zimbabwe and a massive loss to India, they have looked vulnerable. Meanwhile, the West Indies have overcome their inner strife to emerge as strong competitors - they lost to Ireland but bounced back strongly to win against Pakistan and crush Zimbabwe, thanks to Chris Gayle's double hundred.
This is the best chance for West Indies to put one across AB de Villiers' men. The Proteas have been handed a rude awakening. Last Sunday, in front of a massive Melbourne crowd, the Indians stunned them with an exceptional display. Since the beginning of the tournament, South Africa haven't been themselves. They landed on Australian soil as firm favourites but have looked a tad distracted. The bowling hasn't fired, the batting misfired while the fielding has been ragged. Even AB de Villiers has gone off the boil a bit. He has been surprisingly quiet with the bat while his 'defensive' captaincy has drawn immense flak from all quarters. Add to that the curse of the Sydney Cricket Ground. Back in 1992, it was in Sydney that the rain calculations left the Proteas needing 22 runs off just one ball. (West Indies Aim to Buck Recent History vs South Africa)
West Indies started slow and Ireland beat them with aplomb in their opening game. That must have shaken up the men from the Caribbean because in the next two matches they showed no mercy to their opposition. After annihilating Pakistan, they blew Zimbabwe away. More importantly, the big man, Chris Gayle, shed off his bad string of scores to score a swashbuckling double hundred. (South Africa Say Windies Will Blink First in Must-Win Game)
Although, on paper, South Africa have a much stronger side, on current form, West Indies is in mood to spoil their party. The South Africans need their batting to come to life while the Windies would be looking to improve their bowling. However, the game will come down to the individual prowess of two men - Chris Gayle and Dale Steyn.
Will the Gayle storm blow South Africa away? Or will the Steyn gun hunt the Windies down?