West Indies Vs South Africa, T20 World Cup Super 8 Highlights: Jansen's Six Takes SA Into Semi-Finals

Welcome to the highlights of our coverage of this thrill-a-minute Group 2 clash of ICC T20 World Cup 2024's Super Eights. West Indies took the fight to South Africa, before the Proteas prevailed by three wickets in North Sound, Antigua on Monday (June 24). Tabraiz Shamsi led SA's bowling efforts in restricting the Windies to a 135-run total. Rain interrupted proceedings early in the South African chase, and caused a revision in the target to 123 runs in 17 overs. Upon resumption, the Proteas batters blew hot and cold, before an injured Marco Jansen took the cake with a stunning six in the final over. The win propelled Aiden Markram's men into the semi-finals, and knocked West Indies out cruelly. Catch the highlights of the WI vs SA match, right here. (Match Report | Scorecard)

South Africa: Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Ryan Rickelton, Bjorn Fortuin, Tabraiz Shamsi.

West Indies: Shai Hope, Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Roston Chase, Rovman Powell (c), Sherfane Rutherford, Andre Russell, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Obed McCoy, Shimron Hetmyer, Romario Shepherd, Shamar Joseph, Kyle Mayers.

It is neck and neck, when it comes to West Indies and South Africa's head-to-head T20I record. The two teams have faced off 22 times in T20 internationals, and have won 11 games apiece.

Before the game begins, check out three key player match-ups that could be worth your while in our report below.

South Africa captain Aiden Markram has won the toss and decided to bowl first against West Indies.

Playing XIs

West Indies: Shai Hope, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Rovman Powell (c), Roston Chase, Sherfane Rutherford, Andre Russell, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy, Gudakesh Motie.

South Africa: Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi.

Aiden Markram: "Can't see the wicket get any worse. Hoping it gets slightly better this evening. We're in a good space. Haven't put together a perfect game yet. The wind is really strong. Obviously the pitch has moved across. Generally a good batting wicket, gets slower as it goes on. Shamsi comes in for Baartman."

Rovman Powell: "Was 50-50 with the toss. Would've bowled as well. We're Caribbean guys playing in our home conditions. We should be able to adapt quickly. It's a team we have played often over the last couple of years. Kyle Mayers comes in for Johnson Charles."

West Indies and South Africa both walk out for the national anthems. The mood in the stadium is upbeat, what with Sir Vivian Richards himself (after whom the stadium is named) walking to the centre with the T20 World Cup trophy.

Marco Jansen takes the new ball for South Africa, and strikes with his third ball. It is the in-form Shai Hope, who has to walk back after driving a length ball straight to cover. Early breakthrough for the Proteas.

Proteas skipper Aiden Markram gets rid of dangerman Nicholas Pooran with his off-spin, and that brings Roston Chase to the middle. The right-hander offers a chance to South Africa with a miscued shot, but Anrich Nortje spills the catch. Kyle Mayers too is fortunate, with a top edge not going to hand.

A substantial breeze is floating around at the venue currently, and that is also becoming a factor, especially with all the lofted shots against the spinners. A catch on one day becomes a six on another due to the wind. Consequently, Mayers and Chase, both of whom understand the conditions well, are unleashing a counter-attack. West Indies decently placed at the end of the powerplay.

The Chase-Mayers stand is now worth 61 runs. South Africa's tearaway pacer Anrich Nortje finally into the attack in the ninth over, meanwhile. And the speedster sends down a top over first up, ending with a well-directed bouncer. Just three runs off it.

The Proteas finally have their breakthrough after a disciplined stretch of bowling in the middle overs. Kyle Mayers holes out to deep cover off Tabraiz Shamsi for a 34-ball 35. Windies skipper Rovman Powell joins Roston Chase in the middle.

After getting some stick initially, Tabraiz Shamsi has bounced back admirably. The left-arm spinner dislodges Sherfane Rutherford and then the well-set Roston Chase. West Indies are six down with fewer than 100 runs on the board in the 16th over.

South Africa continue to peg away and Windies digging a deeper hole for themselves. Kagiso Rabada completes a sharp caught-and-bowled to dismiss Akeal Hosein and leave the hosts eight down in the 18th over.

Alzarri Joseph plays a valuable hand at the end, staying not out at 11 runs off seven balls - smashing a six off Kagiso Rabada in the process - to prop West Indies up to a score of 135 runs. We'll be back with the Proteas chase soon. Stay tuned.

Quinton de Kock has come out all guns blazing in the very first over of South Africa's chase. The Proteas southpaw smashes three fours off Akeal Hosein to get the innings off to a rollicking start.

Just as Andre Russell spurs some excitement with two wickets (Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks) in quick succession, rain strikes at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. Covers are on. Remember, South Africa will go through to the semi-final if the match is washed out.

The good news is that the rain has stopped at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. Ground staff are hard at work, drying up the outfield so that play can resume soonest.

We have the updated playing conditions. The match has been reduced to a 17-over contest, and South Africa's revised target is 123 runs. Hence they need 108 more runs off 90 balls. Play about to start soon, unless rain strikes again.

Play resumes. Akeal Hosein bowls the third over in the truncated 17-over innings. Seven runs result as SA skipper Aiden Markram manages a reverse-swept boundary. This will be an interesting chase for sure.

Alzarri Joseph dismisses Proteas skipper Aiden Markram, but that brings the destructive Heinrich Klaasen to the crease and he is off to flier. The seventh over of the innings, bowled by Gudakesh Motie, goes for 20 runs as the required rate falls well below six runs an over.

Despite the wicket of Heinrich Klaasen, South Africa are in command of the game as David Miller and Tristan Stubbs are in the middle and the asking rate is now under five runs an over. West Indies need a flurry of wickets to force a fightback.

West Indies off-spinner Roston Chase has breathed life into the match with wickets of David Miller and Tristan Stubbs in quick succession. Both new batters, lower-order ones at that, at the crease now. This will go right down to the wire.

Kagiso Rabada smashes a four off the last ball of the penultimate over to make the equation five from six balls. Marco Jansen then smokes a six off Obed McCoy to win it for South Africa. The hosts have been knocked out of the World Cup. Proteas through to the semis in dramatic fashion!

Tabraiz Shamsi is the Player Of The Match for his crucial three-wicket haul. Here's what he said after South Africa's dramatic win:

"I am sweating, and I was not even out there. Quite nervy out there but that has been the theme this World Cup. We have been finding ways to win and tonight was another one of those. (On the six that won the game) We were looking at Jansen's reaction and he seemed pretty confident and the boys then went crazy. The people out there, our supporters, would probably like bigger wins. But things like this, it keeps us in check. We have been able to overcome such (pressure) moments and that keeps us in good stead. The last time I played here, I went for 50 runs. I just had to back my plans, got the backing from the coaching staff to come back here, and happy I could do my role. The guys who bowled before me, set it up. From the first game, we have won it as a team, not about individuals. We have so many match-winners, each is capable of winning the game for his team. Little bits of contribution here and there are taking us over the line, and there is no pressure (on us). (On what they were thinking during the rain delay) Always a one-sided affair with South Africa, World Cups and rain. But the boys were really calm in the shed and no such crazy thoughts running around in the background."

Rovman Powell: "Credit has to be given to the boys, they fought till the very end. As a batting group, this is a performance you'd want to forget. We did not bat well in the middle. It was not an easy wicket, especially to get started. In the middle overs, we lost wickets in clusters. That broke the back of our batting team. It was a commendable bowling effort. We said we wanted to give it our all. They (the team) believed even if it was only 135 (on the board). When you look on a large scale, we have not won the World Cup or in the semi-final, but if you look at the cricket we have played in the last 15 months, to go from No.9 to No.3 in the rankings, it is commendable. There is a lot of buzz in the Caribbean around West Indian cricket, and now is where the work starts. Continue to work together as a group and make the Caribbean people proud. (On the crowd support) They have been fantastic. Every venue we have played and all the social media likes and stuff they have given us, we really appreciate that as a team. Good to see some buzz is back and for long, it had died down. Now, people are rallying around the players. When we hear the anthem, as players, we feel something and that is heading in the right direction. Thanks to the people of Antigua for coming out (tonight). Not just people in Antigua but to everyone in the Caribbean, thanks for coming out."

Aiden Markram: "A lot of relief to get through to the semi-final. We would have liked to be more convincing with bat in hand. After the rain break, the wicket was playing nicely. Did not get the partnerships to then kill the game. Tried to kill it (the chase) too early. Massive for us and fantastic for the change room but hopefully we can avoid those tricky situations (moving forward). I thought we bowled really well, assessed conditions and kept them to a sub-par total. Just appreciating and understanding the need to build partnerships. Big fan of trying to kill the game early but tonight, we just did that a little early and a good lesson to learn from today. Hopefully we do not repeat that (mistake). We picked Shamsi, wanting to have a mystery spinner. We identified a possible opportunity. Wanted some spin in the powerplay and saw it turn. Wanted as much spin as possible (thereafter) and bowled as many overs of spin. When KG only bowls two overs, it speaks of how the wicket played. (On improvements that need to be made) The bowling unit has been firing for us, which has been fantastic. Being more clinical with the bat, understanding when it is time to take it on and when to knock it around. (On any preference of semi-final opponent) Whoever it might be, we have not played our best game of cricket yet, so we will try to put it together for the semi-final."

Today's match adds another chapter to South Africa's chequered history with rain and Cricket World Cups. The most striking - and painful from the Proteas perspective - incident was at the 1992 World Cup, where RSA had to bow out in the semi-finals in a farcical manner, thanks to a now-obsolete rain rule.

Thankfully for Markram and Co, South Africa were on the right side of the result after a rain break, for a change.

With that, we conclude our coverage of this nail-biting, see-saw match between West Indies and South Africa. We will be back with live updates from the blockbuster India vs Australia clash in the evening. Until then, goodbye.