West Indies lording over USA sets up exciting South Africa showdown

With South Africa getting the better of England hours earlier, West Indies found themselves in a challenging spot. Despite putting together an impressive, unbeaten run through the group stage, they had begun the Super 8s Group 2 with a heavy defeat. Now, they needed a big win against co-hosts USA to have a strong chance of qualifying for the semi-finals.

Riding on a three-for by spinner Roston Chase and a blazing half-century by Shai Hope, that’s precisely what the Windies accomplished at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown on Friday. After winning the toss and bowling out USA for 128 on a batting-friendly pitch, they completed a nine-wicket win with 55 balls to spare. The result took the twice champions’ Net Run Rate (NRR) above South Africa’s, leaving Group 2 tantalisingly poised heading into the final round of games.

Chase, who was the standout bowler for West Indies in their previous game against England, was at his best again and returned figures of 3/19. The off-spinner applied the choke in the middle overs and got the wickets of USA skipper Aaron Jones, Corey Anderson and Harmeet Singh.

It then came down to Hope’s blitz that helped West Indies get the huge victory they were looking for. The right-hander had played just one game earlier in the tournament and had come in as a replacement for the injured Brandon King, who is out due to a side strain. Sent in at the top of the order, Hope slammed an unbeaten 82 off 39 balls with eight sixes to make light of USA’s total. The 30-year-old has had to answer questions about his strike-rate in T20s over the years but continued his resurgence with a free-flowing knock.

The Barbados ‘keeper-batter’s exploits served another reminder of the depth in the Windies’ squad. As was the case during their title-winning run in 2016, they have found multiple match-winners through this World Cup. They have had four different Player-of-the-Match awardees across their five wins so far. In a format where even a brief period of domination can change the outcome of a match, it’s a significant advantage for the Windies to have such firepower in their ranks.

“We had a great opportunity to come out and play some good cricket,” said West Indies captain Rovman Powell after the game. “Roston plays his role really well and keeps things tight. On a good surface, he bowled really well. Shai has been fantastic. He was hungry for a good performance. The match against South Africa should be a good one. We are up for the fight. We got a full house here to support us, that's all we can ask for.”

Fascinating finish

For the Windies, things would have been more straightforward had England beaten South Africa. With England being the favourites to defeat USA in their last game, West Indies would have been left with a straight shootout with South Africa for the second semi-final spot from Group 2. But by defeating USA by a huge margin, Powell and Co have put themselves in a promising position to advance.

With their NRR being far superior, West Indies will go through if they beat the Proteas by any margin. England and USA will face off first and a comprehensive win for Jos Buttler and Co should take their NRR past South Africa’s. USA, too, have the slimmest of chances but they’ll need to hammer England and hope South Africa do the same to West Indies.

South Africa, meanwhile, are sitting atop the Group 2 table and a win by any margin in their last game will be enough. But they could face an unfortunate exit if they lose to West Indies and England do as expected against USA. Despite winning each of their six games so far in the tournament, Aiden Markram and Co find themselves in a tricky position where they can’t afford a slip-up.