1:25am And...breathe. A tense low-scoring thriller, perhaps encapsulating the stakes and the pressure both sets of players were feeling. South Africa, though, held their nerve just enough and march on to the semi-finals, still undefeated and unblemished. A much more frustrating night for the hosts, although they can hold their head high, knowing they gave it absolutely everything with the ball.
Hope you enjoyed our coverage, and there is more T20 World Cup action lined up in the near future, with India taking on Australia and Bangladesh clashing with Afghanistan, and those matches will finalise who will face who in the semi-final. Do join us for those games. Until then, this is goodbye from me, Thilak, Vairavan and everyone else at ESPNcricinfo. Take care, everyone!
Aiden Markram, South Africa captain: A lot of relief to get through to the semi-final. Not going to be brain-washed by that. We would have liked to be more convincing with bat in hand. After the rain break, the wicket was playing nicely. Did not get the partnerships to then kill the game. Tried to kill it (the chase) too early. Massive for us and fantastic for the change room but hopefully we can avoid those tricky situations (moving forward). I thought we bowled really well, assessed conditions and kept them to a sub-par total. Just appreciating and understanding the need to build partnerships. Big fan of trying to kill the game early but tonight, we just did that a little early and a good lesson to learn from today. Hopefully we do not repeat that (mistake). We picked Shamsi, wanting to have a mystery spinner. We identified a possible opportunity. Wanted some spin in the powerplay and saw it turn. Wanted as much spin as possible (thereafter) and bowled as many overs of spin. When KG only bowls two overs, it speaks of how the wicket played. (On improvements that need to be made) The bowling unit has been firing for us, which has been fantastic. Being more clinical with the bat, understanding when it is time to take it on and when to knock it around. (On any preference of semi-final opponent) Whoever it might be, we have not played our best game of cricket yet, so we will try to put it together for the semi-final.
Rovman Powell, West Indies captain: Credit has to be given to the boys, they fought till the very end. As a batting group, this is a performance you'd want to forget. We did not bat well in the middle. It was not an easy wicket, especially to get started. In the middle overs, we lost wickets in clusters. That broke the back of our batting team. It was a commendable bowling effort. We said we wanted to give it our all. They (the team) believed even if it was only 135 (on the board). When you look on a large scale, we have not won the World Cup or in the semi-final, but if you look at the cricket we have played in the last 15 months, to go from No.9 to No.3 in the rankings, it is commendable. There is a lot of buzz in the Caribbean around West Indian cricket, and now is where the work starts. Continue to work together as a group and make the Caribbean people proud. (On the crowd support) They have been fantastic. Every venue we have played and all the social media likes and stuff they have given us, we really appreciate that as a team. Good to see some buzz is back and for long, it had died down. Now, people are rallying around the players. When we hear the anthem, as players, we feel something and that is heading in the right direction. Thanks to the people of Antigua for coming out (tonight). Not just people in Antigua but to everyone in the Caribbean, thanks for coming out.
Tabraiz Shamsi, Player of the Match: I am sweating, and I was not even out there. Quite nervy out there but that has been the theme this World Cup. We have been finding ways to win and tonight was another one of those. (On the six that won the game) We were looking at Jansen's reaction and he seemed pretty confident and the boys then went crazy. The people out there, our supporters, would probably like bigger wins. But things like this, it keeps us in check. We have been able to overcome such (pressure) moments and that keeps us in good stead. The last time I played here, I went for 50 runs. I just had to back my plans, got the backing from the coaching staff to come back here, and happy I could do my role. The guys who bowled before me, set it up. From the first game, we have won it as a team, not about individuals. We have so many match-winners, each is capable of winning the game for his team. Little bits of contribution here and there are taking us over the line, and there is no pressure (on us). (On what they were thinking during the rain delay) Always a one-sided affair with South Africa, World Cups and rain. But the boys were really calm in the shed and no such crazy thoughts running around in the background.
1am Well, South Africa made heavy weather of this run-chase. They should not have brought it this deep, but like most games this campaign, they did. And they triumphed at the end of it all. Jansen, who collided with Rabada earlier in the day and was off the field for a while, stood tall, remaining unbeaten on 21 and keeping his head while everyone around him lost theirs.
There were notable contributions from Stubbs and Klaasen, although the former would be ruing the way he was dismissed. Klaasen's cameo, on the other hand, brought the required run-rate under control, meaning that even when SA lost wickets, they were never fretting over the scoring rate.
A disappointing night for the West Indies and their fans. They bowled their heart out, contending with a wet ball and almost pulled off the unthinkable. Chase was brilliant and it was heart-breaking that the only boundary he conceded in his spell came off the last ball, when SA needed 9 off 7. Joseph was equally enterprising, whereas Russell's early scalps kept the West Indies in the game.
Having said that, the hosts were always playing catch-up because of how little they had to play with. And that is perhaps what they will brood over, as their T20 World Cup campaign comes to an end.
Wow, that boundary has changed things. 5 needed off the final over, which will be bowled by McCoy. Again, this might have become South Africa's game to lose. Can WI pull this out of the fire? Deep square leg, deep mid wicket, long on and long off are on the fence, along with deep point
END OF OVER:16 | 8 Runs 1 Wkt | SA: 118/7 (5 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 7.37, RRR: 5.00)
- Kagiso Rabada5 (3b)
- Marco Jansen15 (13b)
- Roston Chase3-0-12-3
- Alzarri Joseph4-0-25-2
9 off 7. Rabada might want to play in even numbers this ball. Dot, two, four, or six - anything will work for SA