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Images from the T20 World Cup Super 12s match between West Indies and South Africa, in Dubai, on Tuesday.
Aiden Markram’s blazing, unbeaten fifty powered South Africa to an easy eight-wicket victory over the West Indies in the T20 World Cup Super 12s match, in Dubai, on Tuesday.
The victory enabled the South Africans get back on track after the five-wicket defeat to Australia in their opening match.
The West Indies suffered their second reverse following the six-wicket loss to England in their opener.
South Africa will next play Sri Lanka in their third Group 1 fixture on October 30, while the West Indies take on Bangladesh a day earlier.
It was a fine all-round performance from South Africa. They first weathered opener Evin Lewis's (56) onslaught to restrict the West Indies to 143 for 8 and then rode on solid batting from Markram (51 not out off 26 balls), Rassie van der Dussen (43 not out off 51) and Reeza Hendricks (39) to comfortably chase down the target with 10 balls to spare.
Contrary to the end result, South Africa did not have the best of starts to their chase, as they lost skipper Temba Bavuma to a run-out in the first over, after just four runs were on the board.
But Hendricks, who replaced Quinton de Kock -- who dropped out of the match for ‘personal reasons’ after the team was directed to take a knee in their remaining matches of the tournament -- and van der Dussen propped the innings with a 57-run second-wicket stand.
After Hendricks's dismissal, van der Dussen and Markram carried South Africa forward and brought down the equation to 44 off the last six overs.
While van der Dussen held one end up, Markram played an explosive knock to take South Africa home.
Markram’s innings was studded with two fours and four sixes.
Earlier, Lewis smashed a breezy half-century before the West Indies lost the plot and were restricted to a modest 143 for 8.
Lewis (56) and Lendl Simmons (16) got the West Indies off to a flier, putting on 73
Lewis did the bulk of the scoring in the partnership. He showed his aggressive intent from the beginning, hitting Kagiso Rabada for a boundary over backward point and then lofted the bowler straight over his head off the next delivery.
Next, it was Markram's turn to face Lewis's wrath as the batter struck two sixes and a four off successive balls to garner 18 runs from the fifth over.
Lewis then smashed Anrich Nortje over mid-off, but a delivery later the bowler induced a thin edge from Simmons, which wicketkeeper Henrich Klaasen failed to catch.
Lewis was in ominous form. He did not spare a single South Africa bowler. He brought up his 50 in style, slog-sweeping Tabraiz Shamsi over deep square-leg to reach the landmark off just 32 deliveries.
He continued in the same vein after his fifty and clobbered Keshav Maharaj for a six but perished a ball later in search of one too many, holing out to Rabada at deep midwicket.
Lewis struck three fours and six sixes during his 35-ball knock.
Two quick wickets then fell, and put the brakes on the West Indies' charge after the brilliant start.
Simmons stay was struggle, as his 35-ball innings was the joint-longest in terms of balls without a boundary in the men's T20 World Cup.
Nicholas Pooran’s (12 off 7) stay was shortlived as he became Maharaj's second victim, caught by David Miller and then Simmons was castled by Rabada in the next over.
Shamsi was taken to task by West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard and Chris Gayle, hitting the left-arm spinner for a six each in the 16th over.
Gayle's run-a-ball 12 knock was cut short by Dwaine Pretorius before Andre Russell was cleaned up by Nortje in the next over.
Shimron Hetmyer was run out a ball later to compound the West Indies problems.
Pollard scored 26 off 20 balls but failed to up the scoring towards the end.
Pretorius was South Africa's most successful bowler, picking three wickets for 17 runs from two overs.