Tri Series ENG V IND

England will take on Australia in the Tri-Series final on Sunday after beating India by three wickets at the WACA.


Steven Finn impressed on the field by taking three wickets as England bowled India all out for 200 in their innings.


In reply, Ian Bell and Moeen Ali opened the batting, but it was a wobbly start for England as Mohit Sharma dismissed the former for lbw with just 14 runs on the board.

Bell only mustered 10 off 13 deliveries, and Ali failed to do much better as he eventually followed his teammate back to the pavilion having hit 17 off 34.


From then on, wickets began to tumble as Joe Root was caught and bowled by Stuart Binny for three, while captain Eoin Morgan was taken out 10 runs later by the Indian bowler for just two.


Binny continued his rout with the dismissal of Ravi Bopara, who contributed just four runs, and the situation looked bleak for England as they sat on 66-5 after 19.6 overs, but James Taylor and Jos Buttler were able to steady the innings.


The duo secured half-centuries and helped edge England closer to their 201-run target, but Taylor was eventually taken out by Sharma on 82 off 122 balls, leaving his side needing 10 runs to win.


Mohammed Shami ended Buttler's time at the crease after the batsman hit 67 runs off 68 deliveries, but unbeaten duo Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad were able to get England over the line.

Tri Series AUS V IND - No result

India got from the game the two points they needed to keep their chances of making the final alive after persistent rain ensured only 16 overs were bowled. Looking at the overcast skies and the tackiness underfoot, Australia's returning captain George Bailey put India in, and saw India struggle to 69 for 2 in 16 overs.


Shikhar Dhawan clocked another failure, scoring 8 before gloving Mitchell Starc to first slip while trying to open the face of the bat. Ambati Rayudu didn't look at home batting at No. 3, and top-edged Mitchell Marsh while coming down the track and slashing.
 
India might have issues, but they stayed alive in the tournament. Had they lost they would have been left with the task of beating England by a bonus point and also correcting their net run rate significantly in the final league match, to be played in Perth on Friday.


India now have two points to England's five and Australia's 15. The India-England match is now a virtual semi-final.


There was more good news for India, in that they played their two injured bowlers, Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja. The two could be key to their World Cup plans. Rohit Sharma stayed out with a sore hamstring, but this will give him time to recover.

4th ODI SA V WI

The West Indies have fought back to beat South Africa by one wicket in their fourth one-day international at Port Elizabeth.


South Africa, who clinched the five-match series last week, now lead 3-1 with one contest left to play.


The hosts posted a score of 262-8 before the tourists hit 266-9 with nine balls remaining.

David Miller played a key role in South Africa's spell at the crease thanks to an unbeaten 130, while JP Duminy also contributed with 43.


However, disappointing knocks from the likes of Faf du Plessis (four) and AB de Villiers (19) saw the home side struggle for runs out in the middle.


Jason Holder ended with bowling figures of 4-53 for the Windies, who also had Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Russell and Darren Sammy among the wickets.


Despite openers Dwayne Smith (duck) and Chris Gayle (10) getting their team off to a bad start with the bat, Marlon Samuels (68), Sammy (51) and Russell (64 not out) helped to get the West Indies towards the winning line.


Russell's explosive cameo in particular provided entertainment for those in attendance, coming off just 40 balls.


Duminy and Farhaan Behardien claimed two wickets apiece for the South Africans, while Morne Morkel and Wayne Parnell also did some damage with the ball.

6th ODI NZ V SL

New Zealand 315 for 8 (Williamson 97, Taylor 96) beat Sri Lanka 195 (Sangakkara 81, Anderson 4-52) by 120 runs


A 117-run third-wicket stand between Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor was the centrepiece of New Zealand's imposing 315 for 8, which founded a 120-run victory against an ailing Sri Lanka.


Williamson and Taylor hit 97 and 96 respectively, on a track not offering much beyond the first 20 overs, before Corey Anderson and Grant Elliott provided late-order acceleration to transform the total from dominant to daunting. Anderson also claimed 4 for 52 with the ball, as the hosts sewed up the series. They lead 4-1 with one match to play.
 
Sri Lanka arrived in New Zealand with high hopes for their southern-hemisphere season, but with one win out of seven matches in all, their World Cup plans have veered towards disarray. Once more, a vital catch was dropped. A straightforward chance from Williamson was spurned, and the batsman went on to make 70 more runs. Again the bowling failed to penetrate beyond the early overs, as the hosts' top order worked themselves into form.
 
And for the fourth time in the series, Sri Lanka's batsmen collapsed around a good innings from one of the senior three batsmen. It was Kumar Sangakkara's turn to wage a lone battle this time. He hit 81 from 66, as the team slipped to 195 all out in the 41st over.
 
In the first innings, Williamson played and missed while the ball was still new enough to move in the air and off the seam, but quickly established a tempo while Martin Guptill struggled at the other end. A back-foot punch off Suranga Lakmal brought him his first boundary, before an on-drive and a leg glance off Dhammika Prasad brought two more, a few overs later.


When Rangana Herath's spin arrived, Williamson used his feet adeptly, often trekking out of his ground to work balls into gaps. Herath should have had him for 27 in the 15th over, but Sri Lanka's trend of shelling vital catches continued. Dilshan got his hands to lofted cover-drive, but ended up parrying it over his head, having misjudged the pace at which the ball was coming to him.
Taylor was watchful early in his innings, as he sought to shake off a run of poor form.


But he appeared to regain fluency after he hit Thisara Perera for four through the covers in the 18th over, and he and Williamson settled into a pattern of risk-free accumulation. They traveled at around four runs an over until Williamson raised the rate with two beautifully timed sixes over wide long on in the 24th and 26th overs, completing his half-century, off 60 balls, in between.


The pair continued smoothly as Lahiru Thirimanne got overs out of his less capable bowlers, partly to make up for those the still-injured Angelo Mathews would ordinarily contribute, but also because Lakmal had left the field with a groin strain, and could bowl no more than seven overs.


Williamson was well on track to hitting his second hundred in three innings when he was run out, effectively by Taylor who did not respond to Williamson's call for a second. Williamson departed for 97 from 95 balls, despondent though he had put New Zealand on course for a second consecutive score of over 300.


Taylor completed his first fifty of the series in the same over Williamson fell, and quickly meted out punishment during the batting Powerplay, cracking Prasad square on the off side twice in the 37th over. A promoted Anderson began his charge too, walloping three fours himself in a Perera over that disappeared for 19, but just as he was getting his big hits humming, Herath had him caught at the cow corner fence.


Taylor would depart in sight of his 12th ODI ton not long after, trapped plumb in front by a yorker-length Dilshan ball. But though wickets tumbled towards the end of the innings, Grant Elliott's big strikes ensured that the foundation New Zealand had constructed at 40 overs - when they had 229 for 3 - would result in another commanding score.


That New Zealand did not achieve a total as great as their 360 on Friday, despite having been 175 for 2 after 34 overs, was thanks in part to Herath's control and Dhammika Prasad's intensity.


The pair were brought into the side for this match in place of Nuwan Kulasekara and Sachithra Senanayake.
 
Sri Lanka's response began with some promise, as the openers progressed to 56 without loss in the 13th over, before a wild Dilshan swipe sent a nick through to the keeper, off Anderson. Thirimanne was strangled down the leg side next over for 29, as the team's efforts to find a decent opening partner for Dilshan had him batting at the top of the innings again.
 
Mahela Jayawardene was visibly out of touch, and was almost out twice to Daniel Vettori, who was playing a record 280th ODI for New Zealand. Though it was the spinner that troubled him, Jayawardene would be out to Anderson, scooping him gently to mid on in an attempt to correct his languishing scoring rate.
 
Kyle Mills, Trent Boult and Vettori all contributed mean spells of bowling, sending the asking rate ever higher, and it was that pressure that saw Dimuth Karunaratne hole out for 26, and saw both Dinesh Chandimal and Jeevan Mendis cheaply run out.


Sri Lanka were always going to struggle after a big top-order partnership eluded them, but Sangakkara's dismissal in the 38th over effectively sealed the loss. He was out trying to lift his tour nemesis Boult over the inner ring. A third run-out and another high catch in the circle finished the match off.

5th ODI NZ V SL

New Zealand 360 for 5 (Ronchi 170*, Elliott 104*) beat Sri Lanka 252 (Dilshan 116, Boult 4-44) by 108 runs

A record-shattering sixth-wicket stand between Luke Ronchi and Grant Elliott yanked New Zealand out of the mire at 93 for 5 and sent them hurtling to 360 for 5, in what began as a counterattack and then grew into a gargantuan, unstoppable thing of terror. Their unbeaten stand of 267 off 180 balls was the highest ever for the sixth wicket, and is the second for any wicket for New Zealand.
 
In response, Sri Lanka managed 15 fewer runs than Ronchi and Elliot did together, and were 108 shy of the hosts' total, despite a spirited 116 from 106 balls for Tillakaratne Dilshan.


Ronchi was chief architect of the mauling, clobbering 170 from 99 balls, murdering anything pitched up and never failing to slam the short balls over the leg-side fence. Rarely did he fail to execute the strokes he attempted, no matter how audacious. His maiden ton was scored from 74 balls. The next 70 runs were slammed off 25. He hit nine sixes and 14 fours in all.


Elliott was slightly more reserved in the early phase of their partnership but once he had set himself a foundation with 25 runs off 35 balls, his strike rate moved smoothly upwards, even if he sought to give Ronchi more of the bowling. By the end of the innings, Elliott was creaming the dross Sri Lanka served up at the death almost as cleanly as his partner was. His 104 not out came from 96 deliveries; he then returned with the ball to deliver nine pinpoint overs that conceded only 44 and claimed two wickets.


Sri Lanka were indisciplined with the ball to begin with, despite the seam movement on offer, but became truly pathetic by the end of the innings. Suranga Lakmal missed his lengths more often than he hit them towards the death, traveling for 93 in his 10 overs. Nuwan Kulasekara nabbed two wickets with the new ball, but was almost as bad with the older one. He disappeared for 73 from his full quota.


Lasith Malinga's absence was keenly felt at the death, but Angelo Mathews was also missing, thanks to a calf niggle. Acting captain Lahiru Thirimanne took two wickets with his seam-up deliveries, but was otherwise disappointing in the field, shelling difficult chances off Ronchi and Elliott once each. Elliott was 47 when the diving chance at short cover went down. Ronchi was already at 167 when the overhead chance, running back from point, was spilled in the last over.


Ronchi began his charge with two of the simplest sixes he will ever hit. Jeevan Mendis dropped the ball halfway down the pitch on successive deliveries, and was walloped over cow corner in the 25th over. The boundaries were scored almost at will from then on.


Sachithra Senanayake's introduction to the attack had been delayed slightly, thanks to the earlier success of the seamers, but he was picked off effortlessly by Ronchi and Elliott, who used the sweep to excellent effect against his leg-stump line. They occasionally came down the pitch to the spinners, but were largely content to punish the bad balls - of which there were many - from the crease.

    

Ronchi and Elliott strolled past their individual half-centuries, and by the 40th over, had catapulted New Zealand to 238 for 5. The last seven overs were a blur of boundaries as Sri Lanka failed emphatically to execute a wide-yorker plan, their quicks routinely delivering knee-high full tosses that the batsmen hammered down the ground or slapped to the off-side fence. The pair struck 122 runs from the last 10 overs to complete one of the most emphatic lower-order comebacks in a tour brimming with them.


That Sri Lanka allowed themselves to slip to such a woeful position will now be a source of extreme frustration in the dressing room. At 20 overs, New Zealand were 93 for 5. The visitors perhaps hoped to keep the opposition to 175 at that stage. They ended up getting twice that amount, and Sri Lanka did not get another breakthrough. They were repeatedly thwarted by mammoth lower-middle order partnerships in the Tests, and each of the ODIs they have lost so far has featured substantial stands for the fifth, sixth and seventh wickets.


Thirimanne and Dilshan sunk balls into getting in and setting a foundation in the chase, making clear Sri Lanka's plan to conserve wickets and attack in the latter half of the innings. There were flashes of aggression in the mandatory Powerplay, like in the ninth over when Thirimanne pulled Tim Southee for four then picked him up to deposit him in the bleachers beyond wide long-on next ball. The New Zealand bowlers were more accurate than the opposition had been, however, and fewer loose balls abounded. Thirimanne eventually fell for 45 off 65 balls, pulling a gentle Elliott half-tracker to fine leg, immediately after a drinks break.


Sri Lanka perhaps had a glimmer of hope while Dilshan was at the crease. Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were not at their fluent best, particularly on such a flat batting strip, but Dilshan scythed his way through the innings at close to a run a ball, and had Sri Lanka requiring 192 runs from the last 20 overs, with eight wickets still in hand.


He reached his 20th ODI ton - and his third in the last five innings - off 95 balls, before Sri Lanka were again scuppered by the batting Powerplay. Jayawardene was dropped by a backpedalling Taylor at fine leg on 25, but was out next over anyway, letting a Trent Boult yorker bowl him through his legs as he attempted to scoop it over his shoulder. When Dilshan fell miscuing one to mid-off three balls later, Sri Lanka were effectively beaten. The last eight wickets tumbled within eight overs, and the visitors were bowled out for 252, with more than six overs still to play.

Tri Series Match 4 AUS V ENG

Australia 7 for 304 (Smith 102*) beat England 8 for 303 (Bell 141, Root 69) by 3 wickets


Before this game, Steven Smith had captained Australia in three matches. They had lost none of them, and he had scored a century in each. Now he has captained Australia in four matches. They have still lost none of them, and he has still scored a century in each. The first three were Tests against India, this was an ODI against England. The opponents were new, the format was different, but this was the same captain Smith.


The day had started with Smith sending England in; he thought the pitch had some juice in it, and would help his fast bowlers. He was wrong, and Ian Bell's best one-day international score of 141 might have made Smith the captain rue his bold decision. But Smith the batsman did everything right in the chase of 304, and paced his innings to perfection. He was still there when the winning runs were struck with just one ball to spare.


The end was tighter than Australia had hoped. Smith and Brad Haddin had made victory seem inevitable and only five runs were needed from the last two overs, but Haddin had just fallen and Moises Henriques was on strike. He picked up three from James Anderson's over, but also retained the strike for the final over. With every delivery that Smith was at the wrong end, tension rose in the Australian rooms.


Two runs from six Chris Woakes deliveries was the equation, but Henriques couldn't penetrate the infield, and was run out third ball attempting a suicidal single. At least it meant Smith was on strike; he flicked a single through midwicket, and the new batsman Mitchell Starc managed to force the ball through cover for the winning run from the fifth ball of the over. It was enough to put Australia into the tri-series final.


Smith walked off unbeaten on 102 from 95 balls - his third ODI century from his past ten matches - and collected another Man-of-the-Match novelty cheque. He deserved it, but it was also notable that Smith had more support than did Bell during England's innings. Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner and Haddin all made at least 30; only Moeen Ali and Joe Root backed up Bell with 30-plus scores for England.


The rate of scoring at the death was also significant. After 40 overs the Australians had 5 for 230, meaning their last 9.5 overs brought 2 for 74. England had the perfect platform thanks to Bell and Root and were 2 for 244 after 40 overs, but lost 6 for 59 in their final ten as both established batsmen fell and the Australian bowlers found their range. It really was an opportunity missed for England.


Australia's chase began solidly through Shaun Marsh and Aaron Finch, but on 32 Finch was bowled when he tried to work Moeen Ali through leg. Things looked shaky when Steven Finn struck twice in an over, first with Marsh caught at backward point for 45, undone by Finn's bounce, and then Cameron White leg-before by a searing inswinging yorker for a second-ball duck in his first ODI innings for nearly four years.


A third wicket should have followed in the same over, when Glenn Maxwell chipped and was put down by James Anderson at short midwicket. Even so, Australia were 3 for 92 and in some trouble. But Smith played a typically level-headed innings, steering the ball through gaps and milking as many runs as he could to build a platform. Maxwell did the same for 37, before he lost his head and was caught on the boundary off Moeen.


Promoted to No. 6, James Faulkner scored 35 but this time was unable to be the finisher, caught at point off Woakes. But Haddin showed his experience and struck the boundaries Australia required to bring the equation well into their favour. He crunched Finn down the ground for a six and a four in his final over, the 45th of the innings.


Until then it seemed the Australian Finn review might make depressing reading for Darren Lehmann and his men on Saturday, but the story of the economy changed quickly. Finn finished with 2 for 65 off his ten overs, and when he sent down his last ball the Australians needed 32 off 30. Haddin was caught off Woakes for 42 off 29, but Australia were by then close enough.


It meant that Bell's outstanding innings had been in vain. He set England up to reach 8 for 303, batting himself until the 42nd over of the innings. With no swing evident, Bell went after the bowling early and struck three fours in Starc's second over, although it was Moeen who really got the runs flowing with three consecutive sixes off Pat Cummins.


Moeen top-edged a slower bouncer from Faulkner and was caught for 46, and followed by James Taylor, who drove Henriques to mid-off for 5. But after a 113-run opening stand, Bell found another ally and his partnership with Root was worth 121 for the third wicket. Bell's half-century came from 42 balls and his hundred off 92 balls, his fourth one-day international century and his first for nearly two years.


It was an impressively controlled innings, confirming that Eoin Morgan had made the right move by asking Bell to return to the top of the order for this series after he was dropped in Sri Lanka. Bell finished with 15 fours and one six and was especially strong through the off side, before finally he slapped Gurinder Sandhu's slower bouncer to mid-off and was caught.


Sandhu made it a double strike by having Morgan caught behind first ball, and after a couple of adventurous strokes including a sort of reverse ramp over short third man for four off Sandhu, Root fell for 69 when he lobbed a catch to mid-on off Cummins.


From the antepenultimate ball of the innings, Ravi Bopara was bowled by Starc for a scratchy 7 from 16 and a pair of run-outs followed to remove Jos Buttler for 25 and Woakes for a duck, as England sought whatever final runs they could get. They needed more.

3rd ODI SA bt WI by 9 wickets

South Africa 124 for 1 (Amla 61*, du Plessis 51*) beat West Indies 122 (Tahir 4-28, Philander 3-27) by nine wickets


With every day they remain in South Africa, West Indies' chances of pulling together a respectable World Cup challenge falters before our eyes. They made only 122 at Buffalo Park in the third ODI, a spiritless and, at times, irresponsible display full of ghastly, ill-judged shots and glum expressions. A nine-wicket defeat later revealed itself much as expected.


Three days earlier, the crowd in Johannesburg had feasted on an AB de Villiers world record; in what was only Buffalo Park's third ODI in nine years, the townsfolk of East London had to suffer a mismatch, concluded in spots of drizzle. Truly, the big cities get all the fun.
 
East London took their pleasure in Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis, lording it over the West Indies attack for unbeaten half centuries as the match was wrapped up with more than 41 overs unused, not so long after some had come in from work.


At 2-0 down in the series with three matches remaining, West Indies needed to win to keep the series alive, but Buffalo Park's slow, low surface demanded discipline - a challenge far removed from the joyous batting surface at the Wanderers on which de Villiers had struck the fastest ODI hundred in history - and West Indies did not show enough of it.
 
With turmoil and ill will rife in West Indies cricket, Jason Holder, a new, young captain needing to imprint his style, must feel the job is a lonely one. Rarely has this affiliation of nations looked less unified; rarely has mistrust between the generations been so apparent; rarely has the talent base looked so shallow. To some extent, it was an experimental XI; it was a rum time for experimentation, one best witnessed by West Indies fans through a large glass of Mount Gay.


As for South Africa, far from wallowing in the satisfaction of a won series - 3-0 up with two to play - they will have a sneaking feeling that West Indies are not putting them under the sort of pressure they would relish ahead of the World Cup. They are likely to respond by giving game time to back-up players. The lengthy group phase of the World Cup gives them time to get their big guns firing.
 
It took seven balls of the innings - Vernon Philander's first delivery - for West Indies to hit trouble. Philander was on the money immediately and slight away movement was enough to draw a wicketkeeper's catch. Dwayne Smith had been dislodged by a decent delivery: others could not claim the same.
 
Chris Gayle has scraped one half-century in 15 ODI innings for West Indies since a century against Sri Lanka in Jamaica 19 months ago, his reputation now largely protected by T20 exploits and the cult of personality. That sequence was extended by a languid drive on the up and a second catch for de Villiers. He fulfilled his fielding duties with a heavy air. Holder gave him an over at the end (or half a one anyway) to cheer him up.


South Africa had only four frontline bowlers, with the remaining overs shared between JP Duminy and Farheen Behardien, a balance that their World Cup opponents will have taken note of, but to take advantage of that vulnerability, West Indies had to build a position from where they could apply pressure.
 
Narsingh Deonarine briefly showed application until, out of character, he stepped to leg against Dale Steyn and tried to uppercut him over the off side, the resulting edge to first slip bringing Steyn his 150th ODI wicket. Steyn soon added Denesh Ramdin, who was undone by low bounce as he tried to run a ball that was not there for the shot.
 
There was much onus on Marlon Samuels to bat with discipline, but history suggests he can only do that for so long: he top scored with 26 from 38 balls before another loft into the deep against Imran Tahir - a shot that has become his calling card on the tour - flew off a thick leading edge to long off.
 
From 53 for 5, Jonathan Carter, playing only his third ODI, and Andre Russell put up a semblance of a response: Russell summoned a front foot pull against Steyn, and Carter deposited Tahir onto the grassy banking at midwicket, but Russell's heave at a length ball from Morne Morkel defied analysis.
 
Even the borderline decisions did not fall West Indies' way. Carter must have fancied his chances of overturning umpire Johan Cloete's lbw decision as he pulled a delivery bowled from wide of the return crease by Imran Tahir but a review fell in South Africa's favour, as it did when the same umpire refused Tahir's appeal as Carlos Brathwaite misread a googly.


Only a last-wicket stand of 28 took West Indies past three figures. With 16.2 overs left, it all ended with a charge, a slog and a stumping.


South Africa's innings was inconsequential, but after Rilee Rossouw had malfunctioned trying to pull, Amla and du Plessis batted with pleasing order and skill. Holder took the only wicket, but as he watched catching chances spurned in the final stages by Sulieman Benn and Jerome Taylor, the man in the size 15s would have needed a big heart as well as big feet.

Tri Series Match 3 ENG V IND

Tri-series, Brisbane

India: 153 (39.3 overs) Finn 5-33, Anderson 4-18

England: 156-1 (27.3 overs) Bell 88*, Taylor 56*

England won by nine wickets Steven Finn and James Anderson led England to a morale-boosting nine-wicket thrashing of India in Brisbane. Finn took 5-33, his one-day best, and Anderson, back after a knee injury, 4-18 as India were bowled out for 153. Ian Bell then made an unbeaten 88 and James Taylor 56 not out in a stand of 131 as England chased their target inside 28 overs. The bonus-point win leaves England second in the tri-series table behind Australia, whom they meet on Friday. Taken in isolation, the impressive performance at the Gabba was an ideal response to the opening defeat by Australia and kept England in the hunt for a place in the final. More importantly, it gave Eoin Morgan a first win since replacing Alastair Cook as captain, comes on the back of six defeats in eight ODIs and was only a fourth win in 16 against world champions India less than a month before the World Cup begins. On the up, down under James Anderson conceded only one run off the bat in his first three overs Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler claimed five victims, one short of the England record he jointly holds with Matt Prior and Alec Stewart Steven Finn became only the second England bowler to take an ODI five-wicket haul in Australia James Taylor averages 45.20 since being recalled to the England one-day side With 4,995 career ODI runs, Ian Bell moved close to Paul Collingwood's England record of 5,092 It came thanks to the penetration of pace pair Finn and Anderson, some woeful India shot selection and a purposeful England run-chase. Bowling on a true pitch after losing the toss, Anderson swung the ball both ways with miserly accuracy, while Finn - who was deemed "not selectable" in the same city almost a year ago to the day - exploited the pace and bounce on offer. In fact, England's victory could have been more emphatic had a stand of 70 between Stuart Binny and MS Dhoni not been aided by some pressure-free field settings and an overuse of the bouncer. By this point, Finn had already sparked a collapse of four wickets for 10 runs in 28 balls that reduced India to 67-5. With India recovering well from Shikhar Dhawan's early edge behind to Jos Buttler off an Anderson out-swinger, Ajinkya Rahane inexplicably charged a Finn short ball to be held at mid-on. Both Virat Kohli and Ambati Rayudu looked to guide Finn over slip only to be caught behind either side of Suresh Raina skipping past a Moeen Ali off-break to be stumped. The Dhoni-Binny partnership steadied India and was beginning to look dangerous when Finn returned to have Dhoni feather another short ball down the leg side and, from the next delivery, Axar Patel edged on to his stumps. Anderson produced a beauty that nipped off the seam to bowl Bhuvneshwar Kumar and, when the same bowler enticed Binny and Mohammed Shami to sky consecutive deliveries - brilliantly held by Morgan and Moeen respectively - India had lost their last five wickets for 16 runs in 21 balls. England had a spell to bat before tea, in which over-aggression saw Moeen hole out to mid-off from the bowling of Binny, but Bell and Taylor, who both fell for ducks in the loss to Australia, ensured their would be no alarms. Bell classily caressed his way to a first ODI half-century in 10 innings, while Taylor, after an uncertain start, gradually found his timing to register a third fifty in six matches. It was Taylor who swept the winning runs, completing England's domination of an India side that are winless in eight matches on tour in Australia.

4th ODI NZ V SL

New Zealand 280 for 6 (Williamson 103, Anderson 47, Ronchi 32*) beat Sri Lanka 276 (Jayawardene 94, Sangakkara 76, Southee 3-59) by four wickets


Sri Lanka's tour of New Zealand has been defined by the hosts' refusal to give in, and again in Nelson, New Zealand clawed back from difficult situations, with ball and bat, to claim a tense four-wicket victory in the fourth ODI. Kane Williamson's effortless fifth hundred will headline the victory, but fine performances from the lower middle order, and the death bowlers, effectively sealed it. New Zealand eclipsed Sri Lanka's 276 all out, in the 48th over.
 
The match was decided in the over before that. Thisara Perera had summoned a decent string of yorkers late in the innings, to dismiss Williamson for 103, and to leave New Zealand needing 25 runs off the last 18 balls, but his eighth over was substantially worse than the seven that had come before it.
 
He missed his length first ball, and was clattered over mid-off by Luke Ronchi. When Perera overpitched again next ball, Ronchi hit it even better, sending it into the sightscreen. Two more straight sixes would follow in the over, and New Zealand needed only one run from the final two overs after that. Daniel Vettori smote one through the covers to finish the match.
 
That New Zealand even took the match that far was thanks to Williamson, who transplanted his mastery over the Sri Lanka spinners from Tests to the ODIs. New Zealand lost both openers cheaply to the opposition's new-ball pair and, though there were no big shots in the early phase of Williamson's knock, there was none of the inertia that had dogged some of the batsmen around him.
 
He was off the mark with a two behind point first ball, and at no stage from then on did he appear at pains to rotate strike. Ross Taylor and Grant Elliott both soaked up deliveries early in their stay. Throughout the middle overs, it was Williamson who prevented the asking rate from climbing far above 6.5, though Elliott did eventually play a helpful hand, as the pair put on 88 for the fourth wicket.
 
There was not as much turn on the Nelson track as Sri Lanka had hoped, but the visitors persisted with their spinners, who could not create chances through the middle overs. Corey Anderson was barely tested upon his arrival to the crease, and he and Williamson swiftly set about building the steady stand that saw the hosts truly take control of the match. They scored at more than five an over, collecting regular singles into the outfield, and rarely failing to punish the poor deliveries.
 
Anderson slammed two sixes off square leg between the 40th and 42nd overs to dent the required run rate, while Williamson neared his century with a beautifully struck chip over midwicket, off Rangana Herath. He completed his ton in the 43rd over, but was bowled attempting to glance a leg-side Perera yorker soon after. Anderson was run out 10 balls after that as well, but the pair's 79-run stand had propelled New Zealand to within sight of victory. All they needed from there was the one big over, which Ronchi provided.
 
Sri Lanka's senior three had contributed 214 runs, with Mahela Jayawardene easing to a sublime 94 and Kumar Sangakkara going smoothly to 76, but the foundation the top order had provided was squandered by the lower middle order. Sangakkara strode past Sanath Jayasuriya's ODI run tally during this innings, becoming the most prolific ODI batsman for Sri Lanka, to match the Test record he has already earned. He is also the third-highest ODI run-scorer overall.
 
Sri Lanka were 180 for 2 at the end of the 33rd over, with a score in excess of 300 well in their sights, but they went on to lose six wickets in the last six overs, as the New Zealand attack bowled tightly at the death. Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan shared five wickets between them, and conceded only eight runs from the last three overs. Anderson had chipped in with the key wicket of Jayawardene.
 
This resurgence was remarkable, because New Zealand were hamstrung by the loss of their best bowler from the early and middle overs. Adam Milne jolted Sri Lanka's innings by dismissing Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews in two balls before the batting Powerplay, but only bowled seven overs thanks to a side strain. Milne should have had Jayawardene out in that same over too, as replays suggest the batsman got a faint edge to a ball Ronchi collected down the leg side.
 
Apart from that hiccup, though, Jaywardene's innings was composed of the timing and intelligence that is the hallmark of any of his fine knocks.


He was watchful against the spin of Daniel Vettori very early in his innings, but came down the track to launch Williamson for six in the 23rd over, and his strike-rate rarely dipped below 90 after that. There was a purring cover drive in the 25th over, a quick-wristed flick through midwicket for four, and a lofted drive whose languor was completely at odds with the speed at which the ball left the blade. That shot, again off Williamson, took the ball way into the crowd past long-off, in the 37th over. It took him past fifty off 55 balls.


There was more clever hitting after the milestone, but with Lahiru Thirimanne struggling to time the ball and Perera also out of sorts, too much was left to Jayawardene. When he was dismissed by a clever piece of bowling from Anderson, Sri Lanka's prospects of crossing 300 received a big blow, and they would eventually fall well short.

Tri Series Match 2 AUS win by 4 wickets v IND

Australia have beaten India by four wickets in a closely-fought one-day international game in the triangular series at the MCG this morning.


Having been set a target of 268 for victory, David Warner and Aaron Finch made a quick start to the home side's innings, but Warner was dismissed for just 24.


Shane Watson (41) and Steve Smith (47) both hit the ball around the ground to run the score up, but neither could reach the half-century mark.

Finch continued to build his innings, and looked to be heading for a century when he edged an Umesh Yadav ball behind to MS Dhoni, falling four runs short of a ton.


Glenn Maxwell (20) and George Bailey (5) both had short stints at the crease to leave Australia needing 15 runs from the final two overs of the match.


James Faulkner found the boundary before Brad Haddin also added four as the home side closed in on the victory before Faulkner found a gap again on the final ball of the penultimate over to seal the win.

2nd ODI SA 439/2 beat WI 291/7 by 148 runs

AB de Villiers took centre stage as a record-breaking South Africa side recorded a 148-run one-day international victory over the West Indies in Johannesburg this afternoon.


It would prove to be a fruitless outing for the tourists from the start as Rilee Rossouw and Hashim Amla posted South Africa's highest ever score (247) from an opening partnership.


The removal of Rossouw for 128 only served to bring De Villiers to the crease, though, and the right-hander went on to make the quickest ever ODI half-century (16 balls) and he backed that up by breaking the world record to reach a century (31 balls).

He was eventually dismissed for 149, but he had helped his side to make a South African record 439-2 from their 50 overs, although they were five runs short of toppling Sri Lanka's greatest ever total.


In response to the mammoth victory target, the Windies started brightly through Dwayne Smith, who made 64, but the big-hitting Chris Gayle could only muster a return of 19 runs before he was caught by Farhaan Behardien.


Wickets then proceeded to fall at regular intervals, with the away side eventually ending on 291-7, which has seen South Africa open up a 2-0 series lead.

3rd ODI NZ V SL (No Result)

New Zealand 145 for 3 in 28.5 overs (Guptill 66*, Mathews 3-21) v Sri Lanka




Martin Guptill's 66 not out off 78 and Angelo Mathews' 3 for 21 were the highlights of a disjointed 28.5 overs of play at Eden Park. Rain interrupted twice, carving large chunks of time from the game, before returning in force just before 6pm to wash out the match completely. New Zealand had eased to 145 for 3 before the final interruption.

Brendon McCullum set off on his customary charge in the second over when he ran at Dhammika Prasad and tonked him over cover for six. He continued to attack the venue's small boundaries, lifting Prasad over fine leg two overs later, but Guptill swallowed up balls to get himself in.

After six overs, McCullum had hit 27 of New Zealand's 32 runs, but the onslaught would soon end. He attempted to put Mathews' first ball into the stands over deep midwicket, and perished when the top edge was well-held by Nuwan Kulasekara, who followed the high ball over his shoulder at square leg, running from short fine leg.
 
Guptill's strike rate improved thanks in part to a pair of streaky boundaries behind square, and he soon settled into a more positive rhythm alongside Tom Latham, as spin was introduced. The surface had not offered much in the way of seam movement, and there was not much turn either, but Mathews and Sachithra Senanayake bowled tight lines in tandem to control the run rate, despite having to contend with a wet ball.

The batting pair was secure until the first rain interruption, and continued to play with freedom following the 85-minute break. Guptill took a special liking to Thisara Perera's bowling, slamming a six over deep midwicket in the 21st over, then moving to 53 with a sweetly-struck lofted drive that ended in the stands beyond long-off. New Zealand hit 43 runs in the seven overs before the second major rain delay, but this time, their rhythm was upset somewhat by the break.

When the teams took the field again, now for a 43-overs-a-side match, Mathews struck in the 27th over, breaking the stand at 99 runs. Latham sought to cut an offcutter to third man, but ended up chopping it on to middle stump instead.

Ross Taylor's mediocre tour continued when he was trapped in front in Mathews' next over. He burnt a New Zealand review in hopes the ball would be shown to be passing over the stumps, but projections suggested it would have shaved the top of middle stump.

Rain began to fall heavily again as he exited the field. It persisted until officials were forced to call off the match.

1st ODI SA V WI

South Africa 279/8 (48.2/48 ov)

West Indies 164 (28.2/32 ov, target 226)

                   

South Africa won by 61 runs (D/L method)

Hashim Amla became the fastest South African batsmen to reach 5000 ODI runs in a run-a-ball 66 in his 101st innings and set South Africa up to take the series lead. He starred in a 99-run third-wicket stand with AB de Villiers, in which runs were scored at 6.82 to the over before de Villiers and David Miller posted 123 to ensure that even when South Africa fell away and lost 5 for 34, they still had enough, even with a 2 hour, 45-minute rain delay.

 

West Indies' target was adjusted to a 229 off 33 overs and then 226 off 32 overs when rain returned again but they were only in with a chance of chasing it when Chris Gayle was at the crease. He plundered 41 runs off 24 balls but his high-risk style of play left him vulnerable to an early dismissal. When it came in the sixth over, it sparked a top-order collapse of 4 for 38 which gave way to a lower-order folding of 6 for 46. Imran Tahir claimed three of those wickets chiefly through well-executed googlies to bring up his 50th ODI scalp.

 

Jason Holder, in his first match as captain, would have wanted more from the men he said were ready to show fight. He shouldered the bulk of that responsibility when he opened the bowling, brought himself back on at crucial times, tasked himself with targeting the South African lower-order and ran an impressive 9.8 kilometres in the field but he learnt that one man cannot do the job on his own. Just ask Gayle.

 

After missing out on Wednesday night's T20, also at Kingsmead, with a recurrence of his back problem, Gayle approached this innings as though it was two days' ago. He flung his bat at everything, despite the steep target. "I am trying to understand it, but I can't," Michael Holding lamented, when discussing Gayle's strategy, or lack thereof. It only took the introduction of Dale Steyn to cause Gayle to run out of luck and allow South Africa the only inroad they needed.

Gayle should have modelled his innings on Amla's to start with. He saw off a tricky opening period, when Jerome Taylor found the right length to dismiss both Rilee Rossouw, who racked up a fifth duck in 10 innings, and Faf du Plessis, a first duck in 61, in the Powerplay. But West Indies failed to cash in on their early breakthroughs and lost their lines.

They offered so much width. Amla was able to treble his score from 13 off the first 19 balls he faced to 39 by the time he'd faced 40. AB de Villiers, sent in earlier than usual at No. 4, was also off to a speedy start. 17 runs came off 15 balls.
 
Andre Russell tried to make the extra bounce work in his favour by holding back his length but the South African pair were quick to pounce on anything short. They brought up a hundred inside 17 overs and a massive total was looming but Amla was in such a hurry to get there, he underestimated Russell's arm. He was run-out but South Africa's momentum was not.
 
They promoted David Miller ahead of JP Duminy and de Villiers immediately adjusted his pace. He slowed down to allow Miller to settle and the pair formed the spine of South Africa's total. They shared the highest partnership of the innings of 123 runs and batted for a ball shy of 20 overs, to take South Africa to the brink of a flourishing finish as West Indies flagged in the searing heat.
 
It was only when both holed out that West Indies had the opportunity to come back into the match. Russell used fancy footwork to run Farhaan Behardien out - the second time on this tour his boot has ushered the ball on its way to breaking the stumps - had Duminy caught behind off a short ball and Philander in the deep before a storm swept through.
 
It was accompanied by gale-force winds, of the literal kind, which only made it more difficult for South Africa when they took the field and met the other Gayle-force. West Indies were off to a flier but they needed support from the rest of the line-up, particularly the experience.
 
But Marlon Samuels was run out lazily, Dwayne Smith was deceived by a slider and Jonathan Carter beaten by the googly. Vernon Philander was rewarded for consistent effort towards the end and Steyn cleaned up the tail as the inevitable outcome was completed.

Tri Series Match 1 AUS V ENG

Tri-series, Sydney:

England 234 (47.5 overs) Morgan 121; Starc 4-42

Australia 235-7 (39.5 overs) Warner 127; Woakes 4-40 A David Warner hundred led Australia to a comfortable tri-series victory over an England side who were saved from embarrassment by Eoin Morgan. Reduced to 0-2 in three balls, England were taken to 234 by Morgan's century. In the first one-day international since he replaced Alastair Cook as captain, Morgan made 121 while the rest of his team managed 93 between them. Warner then dominated the chase, making 127 as Australia won by three wickets with 10.1 overs to spare. The winning margin gave the home side a bonus point, their pursuit of which resulted in late wickets that left the scores looking closer than the contest was. The loss was England's 18th in 25 ODIs against Test-playing sides and extended their poor record in Australia to 11 defeats in 13 matches. More importantly, it was another reverse with only three matches to go before their World Cup campaign begins against the same opponents in Melbourne on 14 February. The one major plus is the brilliant innings of Morgan, 28, who averaged only 25.45 in his last 23 games before taking over full-time from Cook, but has now pushed his mean to 78.28 in nine as skipper. However, he received little support, with the top order failing to cope with an inspired early burst from Mitchell Starc and many others falling to loose strokes. And, later, a bowling attack without the omitted off-spin of James Tredwell on a slow Sydney pitch failed to match either the threat or discipline of the home side. It could have been much worse for England, who saw Ian Bell and James Taylor pinned leg before by beautiful inswingers from left-armer Starc in the first over. After Joe Root poked Pat Cummins to first slip, Moeen Ali lofted James Faulkner to deep cover and Ravi Bopara cut a Xavier Doherty long hop to point, Morgan had to rebuild from 69-5. He did so in a patient stand of 67 with Jos Buttler, only opening his shoulders with a six over long off to go to 50. Finding the off-side fence with more regularity, Morgan moved towards three figures with another maximum over long-on and brought up the slowest of his seven ODI hundreds in 127 balls. Morgan took Starc for a further six, but was held on the leg side later in the same over and, next ball, Steven Finn was bowled to become the last man to fall and leave Starc with figures of 4-42. Needing early inroads, England were let down by the inaccuracy of Finn in particular, with Warner showing his intent through handsome cover drives. Though pace bowler Chris Woakes got Aaron Finch to play on and had Shane Watson caught on the leg-side fence, it was Warner who looked the prize scalp, with a miscue off Stuart Broad evading Morgan at mid-off and a strong Moeen shout for lbw turned down. A partnership of 78 with Steve Smith sapped England's hopes as Warner added pulls and sweeps to his array of drives, bringing up his third one-day century in 97 balls. He fell in the late charge to win inside 40 overs - a fourth wicket for the persevering Woakes - but, by then, the match was won.

3rd T20 SA bt WI by 69 runs

South Africa 195 for 3 (van Wyk 114*, Pollard 1-13) beat West Indies 126 (Simmons 49, Cottrell 5-23) by 69 runs


He is neither South Africa's first-choice limited-overs wicketkeeper batsmen nor their second so it was only fitting that Morne van Wyk, third in the queue behind Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers and overlooked for the World Cup despite topping the ongoing one-day cup run charts, became their third T20 centurion.
 
Minutes after an emotional celebration in which he ended up wiping tears from his eyes, van Wyk put team above self and clobbered South Africa to a total above 190 to ensure they did not squander their strong start.
 
"If we lose the game, my runs will not have been enough," van Wyk said at the innings break. Luckily for him, they were.
 
South Africa stopped West Indies from completing a third successful chase and a series whitewash with an aggressive batting and assured bowling performance. Their task was made considerably less difficult by the unavailability of Chris Gayle, who was left nursing the back injury that kept him out of the Test series, but the hosts had niggles of their own which could have worked against them.


David Miller left the middle order appearing even softer than usual, despite the earlier-than-planned return of JP Duminy, as he sat out with a back spasm but van Wyk ensured they did not have too much to do.
 
He single-handedly set South Africa up for victory by starring in their third century opening stand in the format, taking advantage of a careless display early on in the field from West Indies and showing patience while being pegged back to propel them to a match-winning total at the end.
 
It did not always look like it would be so well-scripted for South Africa. Sheldon Cottrell's first two overs were strangling as he maintained a full length outside off and conceded just five runs but he lacked support. Carlos Brathwaite, who made his first appearance in the series, could not find his line and started down the leg side before over-compensating by offering too much width outside off. His confidence would not have been helped when Dwayne Smith put down a tough change at point after van Wyk got a leading edge. The opening batsmen was on 1 at the time.


Brathwaite had a second chance dropped when Reeza Hendricks offered Smith a much easier catch from the other end. Hendricks enjoyed more good fortune when he top-edged Brathwaite for six two balls later but then asserted himself over Ashley Nurse. The offspinner persisted with short balls even as he saw them dispatched by both Hendricks and van Wyk, who brought up 62 in the Powerplay and 86 by the end of the eighth over.
 
Taking pace off the ball was the right strategy though, as Bravo showed with slower balls and cutters. Between him and Marlon Samuels, only 22 runs came off the next four overs and Kieron Pollard cashed in on that squeeze. Hendricks holed out and South Africa promoted David Wiese to No. 3 to get big runs in a big way.
 
But van Wyk did that with more confidence, perhaps because he had assessed the pitch properly and waited for width or the wrong length to find the boundary. Wiese was yorked by Bravo at the end of the 18th over, with South Africa still well short of the 200 they seemed likely to get and it was up to van Wyk to get them there. He took 13 runs off Cottrell's last over to get himself to 99.
 
Bravo hit him on the hip with a beamer as the final over began but van Wyk scrambled the single he needed to reach his milestone off the next ball, the 67th he faced. The emotions did not overwhelm Duminy, who returned after two months on the sidelines with a straight six before van Wyk plundered two more. The 23 runs South Africa scored at the end gave them a defendable score, although Lendl Simmons did his best to change that.
 
Batting in place of Gayle, Simmons did his best to imitate the Jamaican. He taught Marchant de Lange not to bowl even a fraction too short and handed Wayne Parnell the same lesson. Twenty-three runs came off Parnell's opening over and West Indies were on track until spin was introduced. Smith may have been looking to target Aaron Phangiso but was bowled by a straight one and West Indies' challenge all but ended there.
 
They had fizzled out by the time Wiese got going with the ball. He understood the surface required a different skill set and had the ability to pull it off. He foxed Samuels with a cutter, had Simmons caught on the boundary, Bravo caught behind off a top-edge, Darren Sammy at backward point and Brathwaite in the deep. That made him the second South African to claim a five-for in the format after Ryan McLaren and ensured van Wyk ended up with a century that was more than enough.

Tour Match England beat PM XI

Tour match, Canberra:

England 391-6 (50 overs) beat Prime Minister's XI 331 (48.1 overs) by 60 runs Ian Bell smashed 187 from 145 balls as England beat the Prime Minister's XI by 60 runs in Canberra. Bell, back in the side after Alastair Cook was removed as captain, hit 20 fours and three sixes to help the tourists to 391-6. Moeen Ali and James Taylor each contributed 71. But the touring bowlers also took some punishment, with Glenn Maxwell making 137 as the Prime Minister's XI were all out for 331 in the 49th over. England now move on to a tri-series with Australia and India, which begins on Friday, before they start their World Cup campaign against Australia on 14 February. Bell's knock has answered any questions over who should replace Cook at the top of the order, while the continuing good form of Moeen and Taylor cements their places in the top three ahead of Alex Hales and Gary Ballance. "It's a good start for all of us, a good win on a very good pitch against a strong XI," said Bell. "I haven't played a lot of cricket recently, so it was good to go through the gears and enjoy myself at the end. "We've enjoyed our week here in Canberra and we're looking forward to the tri-series and the World Cup after that." England's bowling line-up also looks to be taking shape, with Chris Woakes's 1-46 from nine overs outperforming the expensive Chris Jordan, who took 2-60 in six overs. With the rested James Anderson set to come back to share the new ball with Stuart Broad, whose 4-40 were the pick of the figures, only the balance of England's attack is left to be determined. Off-spinner James Tredwell returned 2-64, but England may opt for a fourth seamer if they feel the slow bowling can be done by Moeen and Joe Root. But, it is the performance of Bell that will satisfy new one-day captain Eoin Morgan the most, with the Warwickshire man batting all but one ball of the entire 50 overs against an attack that included Australia pace bowler Pat Cummins. Maxwell took three fours and a six from a single Jordan over as he made a fanciful chase seem possible, before Broad returned to have him held in the gully. The same bowler took two wickets in two balls late on, before ending the match with a skied caught and bowled.

Tour Match ENG XI bt ACT XI by 216 runs

England 364-6 (50.0 overs) beat ACT XI 148 (32.4 overs) by 216 runs

England beat an invitational Australian Capital Territory XI by 216 runs in Eoin Morgan's first game as full-time 50-over captain.

Moeen Ali, Ian Bell, James Taylor and Joe Root all made half-centuries in Canberra as England warmed up for their tri-series against Australia and India.

Ravi Bopara and Chris Woakes also combined late on to add 105 in 50 balls as England reached 364 for six. 

The home side at the Manuka Oval were dismissed for 148 in the 33rd over.

Spinner James Tredwell took three for 11 to rip out the middle order, while there were two wickets each for Stuart Broad and Moeen.

"We got five fifties, some good striking at the end, which is what you want to see, and everyone got a few overs under their belt, so it was a pretty good run-out," Tredwell told BBC Sport. 

England are next in action on Wednesday against a Prime Minister's XI, before Friday's tri-series opener against Australia in Sydney. 

They begin their World Cup campaign against the same opponents on 14 February.

One-day tri-series in Australia 2015

16 Jan: Australia v India, Melbourne (day/night)

18 Jan: Australia v England, Sydney (SCG) (d/n)

20 Jan: England v India, Brisbane (d/n)

23 Jan: Australia v England, Hobart (d/n)

26 Jan: Australia v India, Sydney (SCG) (d/n)

30 Jan: England v India, Perth (d/n)

1 Feb: Final, Perth (d/n)

2nd T20 SA 231/6 lost to WI 236/6 by 4 wkts

West Indies 236 for 6 (Gayle 90, Wiese 3-43) beat South Africa 231 for 7 (Du Plessis 119, Bravo 2-32) by four wickets


The Wanderers is home to what it calls the greatest ODI of all time - the 438 game - and now it is also home to what could become known as the most thrilling T20: the 236 game. West Indies pulled off the highest successful run-chase in the shortest format, propelled by Chris Gayle's 90 off 41 balls, held together by Marlon Samuels' seventh T20 half-century and finished by Darren Sammy, who led his side to a series win with a game to spare.
 
South Africa could be forgiven for being shell-shocked. They would have thought their chances of squaring the series were strong after Faf du Plessis became the second South African to score a T20 hundred, helping them post their second-highest score in the format and with the knowledge they had never lost a T20 defending a 180-plus score before.
 
There was one man who could change that and change it he did. Gayle scored his only international T20 century at the Wanderers - against South Africa in 2007 - and seemed set to bring up his second with a bruising batting performance. He could not quite repeat the feat but his team-mates ensured his efforts did not go to waste.


It began in the third over, after West Indies got off to the start they needed but lost Dwayne Smith, who drove down the wrong line to a full, straight, Marchant de Lange delivery. Gayle faced a situation he relished: his team needed quick runs and aggression, someone who was willing to take on the bowlers no matter where they landed the ball.
 
Luckily for Gayle, Kyle Abbott insisted on going full - perhaps after seeing what happened to West Indies' bowlers, who erred by doing the opposite - and presented five full tosses in succession. Gayle let the first one go, took four fours off the rest and when Abbott held his length back to end the over, carted him over deep midwicket for six.
 
Twenty-two runs came off that over and it was the sign everything was going to go. The next three overs cost 46 as David Wiese and de Lange also searched for the yorker but ended up offering runs. West Indies scored the second-highest number of runs in the Powerplay, 86, and Samuels cashed in as well.
 
Aaron Phangiso and Imran Tahir bowled the first two overs that did not go for double figures but even their luck was short-lived. After Gayle brought up his fifty off 20 balls - three slower than at Newlands on Friday night - with a six off Tahir, he grew even more hungry. Phangiso was hit to the grass embankment, Tahir to the top tier of the stand and Justin Ontong, turned to perhaps because du Plessis had run out of options, flat out of the ground. While Samuels played a supporting role, the second-wicket stand grew to 152 off 11.5 overs.


The required run rate was whittled down to under 10 runs an over when Tahir bowled the first boundary-less over of the innings and the pressure started to mount again. Gayle was desperate to see his team through and went after Wiese but the bowler took pace off the ball and had the Jamaican caught behind.
 
That was where it could have all gone wrong for West Indies. On Friday, they lost five for 50 when Gayle departed and this time they threatened to unravel similarly. Tahir had another tight over, with just five runs coming from it, then Samuels holed out and Kieron Pollard was also deceived by a slower ball. Andre Russell and Dwayne Bravo enjoyed two big hits each and fell attempting a third but the important thing was that even as wickets fell, West Indies kept adding runs.
 
When Darren Sammy joined Denesh Ramdin, West Indies needed 23 off 14 balls - which set the scene for the captain to play a knock like the ones he had in the World T20. He kept his cool while neither Abbott nor de Lange held theirs and secured the victory with four balls to spare.
 
South Africa would not have expected that after they were treated to a show by their own leader. Du Plessis was called on in yet another mini-crisis, after the first two wickets went cheaply, and was joined by David Miller, promoted to No. 4. They posted 105 runs for the third wicket at a run rate of 12.85 - a fraction more than the Gayle-Samuels stand of 12.84 - and took advantage of a West Indies attack who could not find their lengths.
 
Sulieman Benn was either too full or too short and Sheldon Cottrell offered too many low full tosses. Their stand could have grown into something of even more substance but Miller was run out thanks to good footwork from Russell before he could reach a half-century, leaving du Plessis on his own. The middle order did not contribute enough around the captain's hundred, which came off 46 balls, one more than Richard Levi's record in T20 internationals.


In the end, he would probably have taken less if he could have enjoyed what West Indies did.