South Africa held their nerves to win the rain-reduced Super Eights match at the Antigua ground against West Indies by three wickets to seal a semifinal berth in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. The match was delayed by rain at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, and having won the toss, South Africa asked West Indies to bat before restricting them to 135-8 in 20 overs. Tabraiz Shamsi starred with the ball, returning figures of 3 for 27, while Roston Chase top-scored for the hosts with 52.
The Proteas appeared to be cantering to an easy victory with partnerships between captain Aiden Markram and Tristan Stubgs, following the rain-reduced target of 123 runs from 17 overs set for South Africa through the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method. However, the fall of Markram—a thank-you gift by Alzarri Joseph—served as the spark that West Indies had needed to carry them into overdrive and tie the home crowd in with their charge.
While the West Indies consistently broke South African partnerships, a dictated over from spinner Gudakesh Motie, conceding 20 runs, swung the momentum well back in favor of the Proteas. A tense chase and a history of failing in big World Cup moments set up unfamiliar pressure on the lower-order batsmen, which they pulled off.
Reflecting on the win, Man of the Match Tabraiz Shamsi spoke about how composed his team was throughout, despite rain delays really testing them at times. Captain Aiden Markram was relieved to sneak into their first T20 World Cup semifinal in a decade and called for the team to produce their best game yet in Tuesday's semifinal. South Africa will progress as Group 2 winners and take on the Group 1 runners-up in the semis.
