By CS Chiwanza.
South Africa won the toss and elected to bowl first in their second T20I match against the West Indies at the Brian Lara Academy, Torouba, Trinidad.
The West Indies lead the three-match series 1-0.
Rovman Powell’s side powered past South Africa in the series opener on Friday at the same venue, where they chased down 175 with seven wickets and 13 balls to spare.
The last time the two sides locked horns in a bilateral T20 series, the West Indies won 3-0.
The second T20I gives them the opportunity to take a step in that direction. Darren Sammy will want them to be as ruthless as they were in the first match.
In the first match of the series, Nicholas Pooran smashed more sixes than the entire South African batting line-up for his unbeaten 65 off 26 as he led the West Indies to a dominant victory.
Pooran’s half-ton helped West Indies pull off the highest successful T20I chase at the Brian Lara Academy.
The Trinidad native was ably supported by Shai Hope (51 off 36) who also creamed a masterful half-century.
Their knocks nullified Tristan Stubbs’s valiant 76 off 42 and Patrick Kruger’s 44 off 32.
The pair rescued and rebuilt the visitors’ innings after an early collapse.
The duo’s 71-run stand provided the visitors with a much-needed lifeline that buoyed them to a competitive total.
South Africa’s top order struggled to get going against Matthew Forde’s medium pacers and lost two wickets to him in the powerplay.
Forde finished the match with three wickets for 27 runs in his quota.
South Africa’s coach, Rob Walter, will be hoping that they will fare better against him this time around.
With the ball, Ottniel Baartman was effective, taking two wickets for 30 runs and the debutant Kwena Maphaka contributed with 1-25.
However, Aiden Markram will need his bowlers to be a lot better with their lines.
They have made a single change in that department, dropping speedster Nandre Burger, who conceded 47 runs at 15.66 runs an over, for Lizaad Williams.
The South African bowling unit will need to tighten up and contain West Indies’ big hitters.
West Indies: Shai Hope, 2 Alick Athanaze, 3 Nicholas Pooran, 4 Roston Chase, 5 Sherfane Rutherford, 6 Rovman Powell (capt), 7 Romario Shepherd, 8 Matthew Forde, 9 Akeal Hosein, 10 Gudakesh Motie, 11 Shamar Joseph
South Africa: Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Aiden Markram (capt), Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Donovan Ferreira, Patrick Kruger, Bjorn Fortuin, Ottneil Baartman, Lizaad Williams, Kwena Maphaka.