When was the last time West Indies won a T20I series against South Africa?
The South African team have won four out of six matches on their current West Indies tour. They blanked the hosts in the Test series, winning it by a 2-0 margin. Currently, the 5-match T20I between the sides is leveled at 2-2. The National Cricket Stadium in St George's, Grenada, will host the series decider on Saturday.
So far, the National Cricket Stadium in St George's, Grenada, has hosted five T20I matches. The teams batting first have emerged victorious on four occasions while the chasing team has won once. 208/7 by Ireland against West Indies in 2020 is the highest score on this ground. 161/2 by West Indies in the first match of the current series is the highest score in a successful run-chase.
The pitch here has often shown a tendency to slow down as the game progresses. The captain winning the toss will be looking to bat first and put in a decent total so that their bowlers can use the conditions well in the second innings.
The big-hitting West Indies have struggled to adjust to the slow nature of the pitches so far in the series. Proteas spinners Tabraiz Shamsi(6 wickets) and George Linde(5 wickets) have strangled the Windies middle-order and bowled very economically. The star West Indies batters need to find a way to negate the spin threat in the final T20I. They should try to pace their innings well rather than trying to hoick at every ball.
January 11, 2015: Daren Sammy-led side edged out South Africa in a high scoring thriller and took an unassailable lead in the 3-match series
The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg was the venue for West Indies' last series victory against South Africa in the shortest format. It was a three-match T20I series during the West Indies tour of South Africa in 2015. The visitors won the first T20I in Cape Town and took an early lead in the series.
In the second T20I, West Indies skipper Daren Sammy won the toss and opted to bowl first on a batting paradise. Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis(119 in 56 balls) bludgeoned the opposition bowling attack and went on to score his career-best knock in the T20I format. David Miller(47 in 26 balls) played the supporting role to the skipper in the middle order.
West Indies got off to a blazing start before Dwayne Smith(17 in 9 balls) departed in the second over at 19-1. Veteran batters Chris Gayle(90 in 41 balls) and Marlon Samuels(60 in 39 balls) joined hands at this juncture and put on a match-defining 152-run partnership in just 71 balls to take their team to a strong position. Proteas all-rounder David Wiese(3/43) removed both of them to give his side a chance of defending the high score.
But Daren Sammy(20* in 7 balls), Andre Russell(14 in 6 balls), and Dwayne Bravo(10 in 5 balls) played useful cameos, in the end, to help their team chase down the target in 19.2 overs. By winning the match by 4 wickets, the visitors also took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3-match series. Chris Gayle won the Player of the Match award for his swashbuckling knock in the chase.
South Africa managed to win the 3rd T20I later at Durban but lost the series to the West Indies by a 2-1 margin.
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