Tauranga, New Zealand: South Africa produced a superb all-round performance to defeat defending champions West Indies by 76 runs in a Group A match of the ICC U19 World Cup here on Wednesday.
Asked to bat first, South Africa rode on an unbeaten run-a-ball 99 by Wandile Makwetu to post 282/8 in their 50 overs.
Pacer Hermann Rolfes then clinched a four-wicket haul as the Proteas dismissed the West Indies for 206 runs in 45.3 overs.
South Africa have thus booked a spot in the next round with four points from two matches. Even if they lose their last group match against hosts and table toppers New Zealand, the Proteas will go through as one of the top two teams.
West Indies’ hopes of defending their crown have gone up in smoke as they are out of contention after losing both the matches they have played so far.
The controversial dismissal of South Africa opener Jiveshan Pillay for obstructing the field was one of the biggest talking points of the game.
The incident took place during the 17th over of the South African innings when Pillay stopped the ball from going on to hit the stumps. He then immediately picked up the motionless ball and threw it to West Indies wicket-keeper and captain Emmanuel Stewart, who then appealed.
The on-field officials consulted the third umpire before Pillay was adjudged dismissed as per Law 37.4 of the MCC rules.
The South Africa opener was unlucky to miss out on what would have been a well-deserved half-century as he scored a steady 47 runs off 51 balls with five boundaries and a couple of sixes.
In reply, the West Indies never really managed to get going as they lost wickets at regular intervals.
A 97-run stand between Alick Athanaze and Kirstan Kallicharan was the only bright spot of the defending champions’ innings as five of their batsmen failed to reach double figures. Athanaze was their highest scorer with a 100-ball knock of 76 runs, which contained six hits to the fence and a six.
