West Indies were floored by a combination of Imran Tahir’s clever leg spin and A.B. de Villiers’ 10th one-day international hundred that condemned them to a seven-wicket defeat in their World Cup opener yesterday.
Darren Bravo led the way in the batting with 73, but Tahir snared four wickets for 41 runs from 10 overs, as West Indies were dismissed for 222 in 47.3 overs, after they were sent in to bat in their Group B match at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
The Caribbean side then claimed opener Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis cheaply before de Villiers smote eight fours and two sixes in an undefeated 107 from 105 balls, and shared in two significant alliances to usher the Proteas over the finish line with 43 balls to spare.
“I think we had an opportunity, where we could have posted much more runs,” said West Indies captain Darren Sammy.
“It so happened that all of the batsmen in our side that got starts failed to carry on like [de Villiers] for South Africa.”
Wickets lost in clusters
He added: “Every time it appeared we were getting back into the game we lost wickets in clusters, so we really have to correct this.
“There were still a few positives in the batting. Darren Bravo batted quite well for us, and so we will go back and look at the drawing board, and come better against The Netherlands.”
To add injury to insult, West Indies were hamstrung by the loss of vice-captain and leading all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, when he injured himself while bowling, and could only complete 2.1 of his allotment of 10 overs.
“He is a wicket-taker for us, and losing him was not a good sight for us,” said Sammy.
“Right now, we do not know the extent of the injury, but he will have a scan [on Friday], and hopefully he will be okay to take part for the remainder of the competition.”
Kemar Roach gave West Indies a bright start in their defence of the modest total, when Amla got an inside edge and was caught behind brilliantly left-handed down the leg side by wicketkeeper Devon Thomas in the fourth over.
Sulieman Benn gave West Indies a false hope, when Jacques Kallis edged a loose drive and was caught at slip for four next over to leave South Africa 20 for two.
West Indies did not get another chance to celebrate a wicket until the 29th over, when Kieron Pollard bowled South Africa captain Graeme Smith for 45, following a second-wicket stand of 119 with de Villiers.
Earlier, Darren Bravo struck eight fours and one six from 82 balls to give West Indies early momentum. His elder brother Dwayne supported with 40, Devon Smith made 36, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul gathered 31.
The World Cup continues today when Trans-Tasman neighbours Australia and New Zealand renew rivalry at the VCA Stadium in the Indian city of Nagpur, and co-hosts Bangladesh meet ICC Associate side Ireland at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka.
SCOREBOARD
West Indies (maximum 50 overs)
C. Gayle c Kallis b Botha 2D. Smith c and b Imran Tahir 36D.M. Bravo lbw b Botha 73R. Sarwan lbw b Imran Tahir 2S. Chanderpaul c Peterson b Imran Tahir 31D.J. Bravo run out (Morkel/+de Villiers) 40+D. Thomas c Duminy b Imran Tahir 15K. Pollard lbw b Steyn 0D. Sammy lbw b Steyn 0S. Benn c Morkel b Steyn 6K. Roach not out 2Extras (b1, lb3, w11) 15Total (all out, 47.3 overs) 222
Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-113, 3-117, 4-120, 5-178, 6-209, 7-213, 8-213, 9-213
Bowling: Botha 9-0-48-2 (w7); Steyn 7.3-1-24-3 (w2); Morkel 8-0-35-0 (w2); Kallis 3-0-21-0; Imran Tahir 10-1-41-4; Peterson 10-0-49-0
South Africa (target: 223 off 50 overs)
H. Amla c Thomas b Roach 14G. Smith b Pollard 45J. Kallis cSammy b Benn 4+A. de Villiers not out 107J. Duminy not out 42Extras (lb10, nb1) 11Total (3 wkts, 42.5 overs) 223
F. du Plessis, J. Botha, R. Peterson, M. Morkel, D. Steyn, Imran Tahir did not bat
Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-20, 3-139
Bowling: Benn 10-0-51-1; Roach 8-0-42-1; D.J. Bravo 2.1-0-12-0;Sammy 8-0-40-0; Pollard 7.5-0-37-1 (nb1); Gayle 6-0-26-0; Smith 0.5-0-5-0
Result: South Africa won by seven wickets (43 balls remaining)
Points: South Africa 2, West Indies 0
Toss: South Africa
Man of the Match: A. de Villiers (South Africa)
Umpires: S. Taufel (Australia), A. Saheba (India)
