Tri-Series 2016, Match 6 Review: Amla and Tahir heroics crush Windies

Prior to the start of the 6^th match of the Tri-Series 2016 between South Africa and the West Indies, AB de Villiers had stated that he expected a team performance from his side. However, when the Proteas faced up to the Windies at St. Kitts, de Villiers was as shocked as anyone else when he saw his side whip the hosts to record a 139-run victory. Hashim Amla blasted a magnificent century while Imran Tahir registered his career-best figures with a wonderful 7-wicket haul.

Jason Holder won the all-important toss and invited AB de Villiers and his men to bat first. Batting on a decent wicket and a fast outfield, openers Amla and Quinton de Kock cashed in. They smashed the ball to different parts of the stadium as they brought up the first South African 100-run stand in the ongoing Tri-Series 2016. The right and left-hand combination worked extremely well for the Proteas. It wasn’t until the 34th over that the West Indies got their first breakthrough when a tired Hashim Amla prodded the ball straight to Sunil Narine for a magnificent score of 110.

Quinton de Kock’s wonderful ‘second-fiddle’ innings of 71 also came to an end when he was cleaned up in the very next over by Jerome Taylor. Although the rest of the South Africa batsmen got starts, it was Faf du Plessis who made a telling contribution as he smashed a brilliant and unbeaten 73 off just 50 deliveries. The blitz from du Plessis saw the Proteas put the cherry on top the cake as they finished on a massive 343/4 in their quota of 50 overs.

West Indies openers Andre Fletcher and Johnson Charles started the match in earnest as they picked up from where they left off against Australia. They smashed the new ball bowlers Wayne Parnell and Kagiso Rabada all over the park before de Villiers made the decision that turned the match on its head. Introducing 35-year old Imran Tahir saw the West Indies collapse imminent. The dangerous Andre Fletcher was the first to depart to the leg-spin of Tahir before chinaman Tabraiz Shamsi removed Johnson Charles one run short of his half-century.

Stats and records – Tri Series 2016, 6th ODI: West Indies v South Africa – Statistical Highlights

The 35-year old Imran Tahir would then go on to pick up six more wickets, thereby making it the best bowling performance in his career. Moreover, what was even more impressive was the fact that he picked the important wickets including Jason Holder, Kieron Pollard, Marlon Samuels, and Carlos Brathwaite, thereby completing perhaps his best performance in ODI cricket.

He was well supported by Shamsi as the latter picked up the valuable wickets of Denesh Ramdin and Johnson Charles. Nine of the 10 wickets fell to spinners as the Proteas skittled out the hosts for a paltry 204, thereby claiming an impressive 139-run win. The margin of victory also saw them claim the much-needed bonus point. Imran Tahir was named as the man of the match ahead of centurion Amla.

Brief Scores:

South Africa: 343/5 in 50 overs (H Amla 110; K Pollard 2/64)

West Indies: 208 all out in 38 overs (J Charles 49; I Tahir 7/45)

Man of the Match: Imran Tahir