It's the final match of the South African summer. It is also the last opportunity for both teams to get their combinations right before the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup kicks off. After three convincing wins, South Africa were handed a rare defeat in Port Elizabeth, courtesy an Andrew Russell blitzkrieg.
South Africa vs West Indies, 5th ODI - Live Cricket Score, Commentary
Series: West Indies in South Africa, 2014-15 Venue: SuperSport Park, Centurion Date & Time: Jan 28, 01:30 PM LOCAL
West Indies had a much better outing in Port Elizabeth, with both bat as well as the ball. © Cricbuzz
Regular captain, AB de Villiers, has been rested with Hashim Amla taking over the leadership role. More importantly for the hosts, Quinton de Kock is back after having made a speedy recovery from his left ankle injury.
On the other hand, West Indies have injected some momentum with the win at Port Elizabeth. But that wasovershadowedwith the news about SunilNarine'swithdrawalfrom the 2015 WC. Darren Sammy feels the bigger test would be the league match against South Africa during the World Cup. But they would love to leave the African soil with another win today.
There was some morning showers which led to a delayed toss. The rain though abated and the covers are being removed. The toss has been delayed though it shouldn't be too long before the match starts.
Marchant de Lange, Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla come in for Morne Morkel, Morne van Wyk and AB de Villiers for South Africa. For West Indies, Narsingh Deonarine will replace Leon Johnson, who is nursing a sore neck.
The match has been reduced to 42 overs a side due to the delay caused by rain.
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Rillee Russouw played the ideal foil for Amla, as he quietly got into the groove with some sensible batting, before freeing his arms to balls that were slightly off track. The left-hander faced a few nervy moments ahead of his fifty, but he got there soon after and looked set to continue with his free-flowing innings.
Rain delayed the start off proceedings by two and a half hours, but that didn't dampen South Africa's spirits when they came out to bat. QDK didn't make much of an impact in his comeback game, even Faf failed to get going. However, the pair of Amla and Rossouw got together when the score was 59 and added yet another 247-run stand between them. They had amassed the same number runs for the opening wicket at the Wanderers as well.
Amla started off in a hurry as the West Indies bowlers bowled to his strength, he then settled down and paced his innings to perfection. The opener got to his 19th ODI ton and was only dismissed in the 41st over. Rossouw, on the other hand, took his time before unleashing himself, but once he was in, he raced past Amla to his hundred first. Miller and Duminy played cameos at the end to take the total past the 350-mark.
The West Indies bowlers were very poor, that is putting it politely. Once Amla and Rossouw started going after them, they had no clue as to where to bowl. In the last 10 overs, they gave 146 runs and picked up only the 3 wickets.
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© Cricbuzz