SA beat WI in 5th T20I, win series: Records broken
Another scintillating show by the bowlers helped South Africa win the 5th T20I against West Indies in Grenada. With a 25-run victory, the Proteas clinched the five-match series 3-2. The likes of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, and Wiaan Mulder starred as SA successfully defended 168. Meanwhile, Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram had set the foundation of their victory. Here are the records broken.
SA lost skipper Temba Bavuma (0) early on after electing to bat. Quinton (60) and Markram (70) then put on 128 runs for the second wicket. Eventually, an 18*-run cameo by David Miller guided SA to 168/4. WI were off to a terrific start with Evin Lewis scoring a half-century. However, the middle-order failed to deliver as WI were restricted to 143/9.
South Africa have won their first T20I series since March 2019. During the period, they lost to England (twice), Pakistan (twice), and Australia (once). The Proteas have won eight and lost 15 matches ever since.
South African opener Quinton de Kock continued his exploits in the final T20I. He slammed his ninth half-century in T20I cricket. Quinton racked up 52 off 34 balls with the help of 5 fours and 3 sixes. In the process, he surpassed the likes of Mahmudullah (1,507), Faf du Plessis (1,528), and KL Rahul (1,557) in terms of runs.
Quinton has become South Africa's fourth-highest run-scorer in T20 Internationals. He now has 1,558 runs from 52 matches at an average of 33.14. The Proteas opener is only behind JP Duminy (1,934), AB de Villiers (1,672), and David Miller (1,577) on the tally.
WI opener Evin Lewis slammed his eighth half-century in T20I cricket. He now has the joint-third-most fifties for WI along with Lendl Simmons. Lewis scored 52 off 34 balls, a knock studded with 5 fours and 3 sixes. Meanwhile, South African batter Markram registered his fourth career T20I fifty. He now has over 300 runs in the shortest format.
Quinton finished as the leading run-scorer of the series. He aggregated 255 runs at a phenomenal average of 51.00 (SR: 141.67). Meanwhile, Dwayne Bravo registered most wickets in the series. The star all-rounder picked up 10 scalps at an incredible average of 13.10. Spinner Tabraiz Shamsi was named the Player of the Series for taking seven wickets with an economy rate of just 4.00.
