ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: South Africa vs West Indies, Pool B match in Sydney in caricatures

The Pool B match in Sydney in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 between South Africa and West Indies was more dubbed to be an AB de Villiers vs Chris Gayle — two of the world’s most destructive batsmen in the world. In the end, it was all de Villiers show all the way on Friday. (ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Full coverage)

South Africa had won the toss and chose to bat. West Indies got a good start with the ball removing Quinton de Kock (12) early and keeping the run flow down but South Africans in the process were building up a good partnership. Hashim Amla (65) and Faf Du Plessis (62) added 127-runs for the second wicket before they got out in a space of two balls by Chris Gayle. It was then that Rilee Rossouw (61 in 39 balls) and Ab de Villiers (162 in 66 balls) got together and put up 134-runs for the fourth wicket. Towards the end it was a one-man show de Villiers who smashed to a fastest 150 from 64-balls in One-Day International (ODI). In the two overs of Jason Holder, de Villiers plundered him for 64 runs as his figures read as 10-2-104-1, which is the second worst figure in World Cup history. Gayle (two for 25) was the pick of the bowlers in the carnage with Andre Russell (two for 74) chipping in. South Africa scored a mighty 408 for five in 50 overs. (ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Points Table)

West Indies made a mess of the 409 runs chase, in response. They received an early setback when Chris Gayle (3) and Marlon Samuels (0) were back in the pavilion by the fourth over. It went from bad to worse when they were seven down for just 63 on board, it was all but over. Only Dwayne Smith (31) made some contribution in the top order.  Towards the end, they had two good partnerships, one between Denesh Ramdin (22) and Jason Holder (56) of 45-runs and then a 42-run partnership between Holder and Jerome Taylor (15), which aided them to score 151. But it was not enough as they lost by a massive 257 runs. Holder’s maiden fifty was the only highlight in their batting. The South African bowlers were on the money especially Imran Tahir (five for 45) who picked up a 5-fer and registered his career-best bowling figures in ODI. He was supported by the Morne Morkel (two for 23) and the returning Kyle Abbott (two for 37), who had removed Gayle and Samuels early on. Ab de Villiers was awarded the Man of the Match for his super show with the bat.

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The win puts South Africa second in the points table with two wins out of three matches while West Indies are fourth with two wins out of four matches. South Africa next face Ireland on March 3 while West Indies face India on March 6.

Brief Scores:

South Africa 408 for five in 50 overs (AB de Villiers 162*, Hashim Amla 65, Faf du Plessis 62, Rilee Rossouw 61; Chris Gayle 2-25, Andre Russell 2-74) bt West Indies 151 all out in 33.1 overs (Jason Holder 56, Dwayne Smith 31, Denesh Ramdin 25; Imran Tahir 5-45, Morne Morkel 2-23, Kyle Abbott 2-37) – by 257 runs