Hetmyer’s 48 not enough for West Indies, who fall to South Africa in 1st T20I 

South Africa 176 for 1 (Markram 86*, Pretorius 44, Chase 1-31) beat West Indies 173 for 7 (Hetmyer 48, King 27, Linde 3-25) by 9 wickets 

Another dark square was added to the West Indies’ chequered preparation ahead of the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on Tuesday, following their 9-wicket loss to South Africa in the first T20I at Boland Park. Despite handy knocks from Shimron Hetmyer and Brandon King, the Caribbean side’s acceleration failure at the death proved decisive.  

With consecutive boundaries off Kagiso Rabada’s first over, Brandon King set the tone for Windies’ opening partnership alongside Johnson Charles. The pair shared in a 39-run stand from 23 balls before Charles was bowled by Keshav Maharaj for 13 in the 4th over. 

Charles’ wicket was the first of three the visitors lost in three overs. King was next to fall, bowled by Corbin Bosch for 27 (16 balls), followed by Sherfane Rutherford, who was cleaned up by Maharaj for 6, with 50 runs on the board in the sixth.

West Indies sent all-rounder Matthew Forde ahead of Shimron Hetmyer at No.5. He hit two sixes in his 12-ball 16 before he too fell to Bosch at 79 for four in the ninth.

Stand-in captain Roston Chase (22 from 18) was removed by Linde trying to accelerate after the drinks break, bringing Rovman Powell to join Hetmyer in what would be West Indies’ most fruitful partnership. They added 74 from 50 balls for the sixth wicket, laying the foundation for a strong finish in the process.

Hetmyer hit three sixes and four boundaries on his way to an innings-reviving 32-ball 48. Powell, in the meantime, managed 29 from 25 balls while struggling to get up to pace with the wicket. With Hetmyer and Powell at the crease, the West Indies were aiming for a total of over 180, with the score at 134 for 5 after 15 overs.

However, South Africa’s death bowling was executed like a well-oiled machine built on a plethora of slower deliveries, and the Caribbean side found it difficult to get out of second gear, scoring only 39 runs from the last five overs (19 in the final three) to finish on 173 for 7 from their allotment.

For every risk and muscle-filled shot the West Indies took on in their innings, the South African openers countered with needle-threading precision and timing. Or so it felt.

Captain Aiden Markram and  Lhuan-dre Pretorius put on 83 from 47 balls for a first-wicket partnership in which it seemed the only inadvertent runs were added at 51 without loss when Hosein denied Jason Holder the wicket of Markram on 27 in the fifth over and the pair came through for a single. 

When Chase had Pretorius caught at deep midwicket for a 28-ball 44 in the 8th, the required rate was just 7.5. Ryan Rickelton (40*) then joined Markram (86*), and the pair needed just 60 balls to get the remaining 91 runs, with the hosts racing home at 176 for one with 13 balls to spare.