In another low scoring thriller, West Indies defeated South Africa by 3 wickets and with just 2 balls to spare at Nagpur. Post the game, South African skipper Faf du Plessis admitted that his side would feel great if they somehow managed to sneak into the semi-finals. For South Africa to qualify for the semi-finals, they must beat Sri Lanka and hope for Sri Lanka to defeat England.
“No party for us tonight. We will be looking at other results. We were not at our best and when you are not playing great cricket, you can’t expect to reach the semifinal. If we sneak in, it would be great,” said du Plessis. “West Indies put us under pressure and it was a bit frantic in the first six overs with the bat. We didn’t know what a good score was on the wicket and lost 5-10 runs there, which might have cost us the game,” he added about the game.
West Indian skipper Darren Sammy was all smiles after his side qualified for the semi-finals. “We came here to take one step and that is to qualify and we have done that. We are really happy. There were two left-handers in the middle, I backed Gayle to do it. We started well and we have been putting pressure on the opposition. I am really excited about my team and everytime they respond. Today we were under pressure and once again they responded. We have to really celebrate this win. It was a tough win and wins don’t come often for us,” said Sammy.