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West Indies have been eliminated from the 2024 T20 World Cup after a three-wicket defeat against South Africa on Sunday (June 23). Despite having the home advantage, the Men in Maroon managed only one win in three matches of the Super 8s round.
They entered the Super 8s round after winning four consecutive games in the group stage. Fans had high hopes from the West Indies team, but they lost the fixtures against England and South Africa to crash out of the tournament. Their only win came against debutants USA.
It is pertinent to note that West Indies would have qualified for the semifinals had they beaten South Africa in yesterday's 2024 T20 World Cup. The match went down to the wire, where the Proteas emerged victorious by three wickets eventually.
In this listicle, we will look at the three mistakes made by the Men in Maroon which cost them the game.
#1 Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran's aggression at the start cost West Indies big time
The character of players is tested in big-match situations like the one in the West Indies vs South Africa game. The Caribbean players had an opportunity to become heroes for their team, but the aggressive approach of Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran put the home side under enormous pressure.
Hope, who smacked a magnificent 82* in the last game against USA, did not realize that he was up against the 6.8ft tall Marco Jansen this time. He tried to smack Jansen for a four through the off-side on the first ball he faced. However, the ball bounced a bit extra, which is why it hit the upper region of the bat and went straight to Tristan Stubbs, who made no mistake in taking the catch at cover point.
Having lost an in-form batter early, the home team needed a partnership to stabilize the innings. However, Nicholas Pooran wanted to smash the first ball from Aiden Markram for a six. Pooran could not time it to perfection and ended up handing a catch to Marco Jansen in the deep. In a big match, the Caribbean team was down to 5/2 after seven balls only.
#2 Andre Russell gets run out while trying to steal a run
Kyle Mayers and Roston Chase's 81-run third-wicket stand brought the home team back into the contest. But South Africa bounced back by taking four wickets in quick succession. All of a sudden, the Men in Maroon were down from 86/2 to 97/6.
The good thing for West Indies was Andre Russell's wicket was left, and 29 balls remained in the innings after the sixth wicket fell. Russell looked in fantastic touch as he blasted a couple of maximums to send the local fans into a frenzy at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
However, on the first ball of the 18th over, Russell and Akeal Hosein tried to steal a run. Hosein tapped the ball towards Anrich Nortje, who was standing at short third man. Nortje quickly grabbed the ball and fired a direct hit at the striker's end to catch Russell short of his crease.
Russell was run out with 17 balls still remaining in the West Indies innings. To make things worse, Hosein got out four balls later. The Men in Maroon could have finished with a 140+ score had Russell remained in the middle till the end, but they only managed 135/8 eventually.
#3 Rovman Powell should have given 1 more over to Gudakesh Motie
Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie went for 20 runs in the only over he bowled against South Africa. Motie was in fantastic touch during the group stage, where he bagged five wickets in the two games against Afghanistan and New Zealand.
Perhaps, giving the ninth over to Motie would have been a wise move because Heinrich Klaasen, who hit Motie for three fours and a six in his first over, lost his wicket in the eighth over.
Captain Rovman Powell instead gave the over to Obed McCoy, who bowled three wide deliveries and also conceded a boundary. The outcome could have been different had Motie received another over instead of McCoy.
