Alzarri Joseph, Romario Shepherd power West Indies to series win against South Africa after 3rd T20I thriller

Alzarri Joseph and Romario Shepherd starred as West Indies defeated South Africa by seven runs in the third T20I at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg to claim the three-match T20I series 2-1.

After not being able to defend 258 in the second T20I at SuperSport Park in Centurion, the Caribbean team made a stupendous comeback. Joseph carried on his decent run of form on the tour after picking up his maiden five-wicket haul in T20Is.

The speedster finished with figures of 4-0-40-5 as West Indies restricted their opponents to 213 for six while defending 220. Among the Proteas batters, Reeza Hendricks scored 83 runs off 44 balls with 11 fours and two sixes, but his valiant efforts went in vain.

Hendricks was dropped by Brandon King at deep extra cover just after he reached his half-century. He batted until the penultimate over, but it wasn’t enough for the hosts to secure victory.

Rilee Rossouw and skipper Aiden Markram also played brisk knocks of 42 and 35 respectively. Quinton de Kock and David Miller struggled a wee bit as they couldn’t go beyond a run-a-ball.

Earlier, after being put in to bat first, West Indies seemed to be falling short of a decent score before Shepherd changed the complexion of the game. The right-handed batter took the attack to Kagiso Rabada and scored 26 runs in the last over. Rabada hit three sixes and one four and ran brilliantly between the wickets to ensure his team had a blistering finish.

Apart from his fifer, Joseph also scored 14 runs off nine balls, hitting Wayne Parnell all around the park. Captain Nicholas Pooran also played his part with a quick-fire 19-ball 41.