Rovman Powell Rolls Back The Glory Years For Windies
Jamaican savours new T20I captaincy by steering tourists to series win in South Africa
Rovman Powell, the Jamaican all-rounder, brilliantly guided the West Indies to their first T20I series success in eight years following their 2-1 victory over hosts South Africa on Tuesday evening.
The Windies proved too hot to handle for South Africa in Johannesburg. They picked up a narrow seven-run win by blasting 26 runs off their last over, with Antigua pacer then Alzarri Joseph terrorising the batsmen with a five-wicket haul.
The series enthralled fans, with Powell proving a point having only been appointed T20I skipper last month. The 29-year-old got off to a near perfect start in the rain-affected opening match last Saturday, with his explosive innings — 43no off 18 deliveries — helping steer the Windies to a slender win with three balls remaining last Saturday.
The 2nd T20I saw run records smashed, with South Africa spectacularly squaring the series at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Sunday after chasing a target of 259. Yet it all boiled down to the fascinating decider inside the cauldron of The Wanderers Stadium.
Powell’s troops were asked to bat first only for the tourists to lose their way early on. Kyle Mayers and Johnson Charles were dismissed in swift succession by Kagiso Rabada in the fourth over. Former captain Nicholas Pooran admirably stepped up to the task to get the team back on track, by smashing 41 off 19 deliveries.
Big-hitter Romario Shepherd also made a brilliant contribution at the crease with an unbeaten 22-ball knock of 44, which included a trio of sixes off Rabada. He had been fortunate to survive after being dropped off the last ball of the penultimate over.
The aggressive short-pitched bowling from Rabada in the very final over backfired on the hosts, as the Windies amassed 26 runs to reach a creditable total of 220-8.
Quinton de Kock notched just 21 before he was duly despatched back to the pavilion. But Reeza Hendricks (83) and Rilee Rossouw (44) soon steadied the ship with their solid 80-run second-wicket partnership.
The Windies, whose fielding had only slightly improved from their ODI series against South Africa, were grateful that Joseph had found his rhythm to tear through the innings with crucial wickets.
Yet the tourists must have been kicking themselves after Jamaican Brandon King dropped Hendricks on a half-century in the 13th over. It took until the opening delivery of the 19th over before he was dismissed, caught by Powell off Joseph, which was enough to suddenly deflate South Africa.
Despite gifting the hosts runs with 11 wides, the two-time world champions managed to keep the batsmen at bay to restrict the hosts to 213-6 and celebrate a long overdue T20I series success.
Powell enthused: “As a new international captain, I want them to be fearless and be natural, but they need to be smart as well.”
“We treated this like a final. King and Mayers have been giving us good starts throughout the series. Our batting was very long today, the way Shepherd and Alzarri batted was pleasing.
“Alzarri got us wickets as well. We knew early wickets would put them under pressure. South Africa is a good place for the bowlers, I knew Alzarri would like the wickets here.”
WEST INDIES’ TOUR OF SOUTH AFRICA
1st Test | South Africa beat West Indies by 87 runs
SA 342 (86.3 overs) & 116 (28 overs)
WI 212 (69 overs) & 159 (21 overs)
2nd Test | South Africa beat West Indies by 284 runs
SA 320 (92.2 overs) & 321 (100.4 overs)
WI 251 (79.3 overs) & 106 (35.1 overs)
1st ODI | Match abandoned (rain)
2nd ODI | West Indies beat South Africa by 48 runs
WI 335-8 (50 overs)
SA 287 (41.4 overs)
3rd ODI | South Africa beat West Indies by four wickets
WI 260 (48.2 overs)
SA 264-6 (29.3 overs)
1st T20I | West Indies beat South Africa by three wickets
SA 131-8 (11 overs)
WI 132-7 (10.3 overs)
2nd T20I | South Africa beat West Indies by six wickets
WI 258-5 (20 overs)
SA 259-4 (18.5 overs)
3rd T20I | West Indies beat South Africa by seven runs
WI 220-8 (20 overs)
SA 213-6 (20 overs)
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