Markram, Linde Inspire South Africa’s Commanding Win Over West Indies in 1st T20I

South Africa registered a commanding victory over West Indies in the 1st T20I at Paarl. They thrashed the Caribbean team by 9 wickets, as Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton led the batting show to chase down the target of 174 easily. Besides them, George Linde also performed superbly in the first innings by taking three wickets in his four overs.

Batting first, West Indies started the innings decently, as both openers played positive cricket in the Powerplay. Their partnership was ended by Keshav Maharaj, who dismissed Johnson Charles for 13 runs in the 4th over. Soon after that, Brandon King also lost his wicket, as Corbin Bosch came up with a ripper to dislodge his bails.

The middle order of West Indies then struggled to counter the South African spin attack. Both Keshav Maharaj and George Linde bowled beautifully to keep the batters under pressure. As a result, Sherfane Rutherford and Roston Chase lost their wickets cheaply without making any notable contributions to the scoreboard.

A late order cameo by Shimron Hetmyer then rescued the Caribbean team, as he struck powerfully to hit big sixes towards the end. Due to his counterattacking 48 runs, West Indies managed to score 173 at the end of the first innings.

When South Africa came out to chase the target, they looked in complete control against the West Indian bowlers. The opening partnership between Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Aiden Markram set the foundation for chase, as WI bowlers looked clueless against their onslaught.

After scoring quick 44 runs, Pretorius lost his wicket in the 8th over. His dismissal didn’t put pressure on Markram, as he kept hitting boundaries to offset the plans of West Indies. He continued to score runs at a brisk pace to finally seal the chase in the 18th over. The captain smashed unbeaten 86 runs with the help of 9 fours and 3 sixes, giving South Africa a crucial victory in the first game of the T20I series.