West Indies captain Darren Sammy said their main objective coming into the match against South Africa was to qualify for the semi-finals and he was delighted to have accomplished the task in Nagpur.
The in-form West Indies continued their unbeaten run and defeated South Africa by three wickets to seal a spot in the last four of the ICC World Twenty20 on Friday.
- Scorecard
With three victories in as many games, the West Indies thus became the second team, after New Zealand, to make it to the semi-finals of the ICC's marque event.
- Points Table
"Yes, I was smiling because of the position the game was, but there were butterflies in there. We came here to win this match and qualify, and we've done that, so we're really happy," a delighted Sammy said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Sammy commended his teammates for holding their nerve under pressure situations while chasing South Africa’s 122 for eight.
"Today we were under pressure chasing a low total, and every decision we took out there they (players) responded. But I really want to commend my team on (how my team coped with the pressure)," he said.
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis said they were not at their best and played a catch-up game in the entire match.
"It felt like the whole game we were half a step behind West Indies and we were trying to catch up the whole time.
"Ten runs maybe more from the batters -- 135 deck, but a great fight by the boys. This game makes us all very old, very quickly! West Indies were just a little bit better than us."
Man-of-the-match Marlon Samuels, who scored a run-a-ball 44 for the West Indies, said it was difficult to play shots on the pitch and credited the South African bowlers for putting up a fight.
"Sometimes you have to bat according to the situation. The pitch was a bit on the slow side, but credit to South Africa. They bowled in good areas," he said.
Image: West Indies captain Darren Sammy
