The series opener between the Proteas and Windies has gotten off to a fabulous start for the hosts, as both teams are rounding off their T20 World Cup prep.

Aiden Markram won the toss, and SA chose to bowl first. WI captain Shai Hope was nursing a minor injury, and ended up missing today’s game as a result.

The visitors’ innings was very much start-stop. Openers Brandon King and Johnson Charles both hit a few crisp shots to get underway, but the experienced Keshav Maharaj had the last word. In the very next over from Corbin Bosch, King played onto his stumps.

In spite of regular wickets, WI managed to rebuild and accelerate, with Shimron Hetmyer spearheading the bounceback. He fell just short of a half-century, but a couple of 20’s from Roston Chase and Rovman Powell helped drive them to a competitive 173/7 at halftime.

George Linde was the pick of the bowlers with his 3/25, while Keshav Maharaj and Corbin Bosch took two apiece.

It was seemingly even Steven, but openers Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Aiden Markram took the game away during the powerplay. Both players impressed with pristine strokes all around the ground, and the run rate pressure was successfully deflated in the first half of the chase

.Pretorius fell for 44, but the star of the SA20 – Ryan Rickelton, helped the skipper knock off the rest of the chase. Markram would go on to score his personal-best of 86* from 47.

WI 173/7 in 20 overs (Hetmyer 48 – Linde 4-0-25-3)

SA 176/1 in 17.5 overs (Markram 86* – Chase 4-0-31-1)