South Africa take home series 5-0 by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

---

Ground:	Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain
Scorecard:	West Indies v South Africa
Player:	S Chanderpaul, N Deonarine, JP Duminy, JH Kallis
Event:	South Africa in West Indies 2010

---

DateLine: 4th June 2010

 

A spirited performance from the hosts was not enough to prevent them from crashing to their fifth straight defeat to the South African side and in the end losing the one-dayer series 5-0.

 

Trying to defend 252, West Indies were again robbed of that winning feeling in the final over as No.11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe lashed the fourth delivery from Kieron Pollard past the infield to the extra cover boundary, when just two more runs were needed for a South African victory.

 

Half-centuries from the blades of Chanderpaul and Deonarine, had put a competitive total on the board. At one stage Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis had seemed to set up a comfortable win but the Windies bowlers led by Gayle, Jerome Taylor, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard checked the scoring that the balance in the closing overs had swung towards the Windies.

 

However, if Kallis’ controversial dismissal-adjudged caught at the wicket off Gayle in the 31st over-had given the bowlers an opening, five boundaries between them from lower order batsmen Ryan McLaren, Roelof van de Merwe and Charl Langeveldt in the last four overs finally took the game away from the home side. JP Duminy’s steadying 51 off 75 balls was also important.

 

The slow Oval strip was not going to easily reward carefree hitting. The Windies produced a workmanlike display. All eight batsmen who went to the crease got into double figures and the left-handers Chanderpaul and Deonarine distinguished themselves with half centuries at important times.

 

Chanderpaul held the early part of the innings together, sharing in partnerships of 51 for the third wicket with Darren Bravo and 41 for the fourth wicket with Dwayne. Chanderpaul had taken the mantle of giving some respectability to the Windies score after the dismissal of the openers cheaply. With the assistance of the two Bravos, Chanderpaul was able to consolidate. When Dwayne was deceived and bowled by a Tsotsobe delivery that hit off-stump, the score had moved on to 137 for four in the 35th over.

 

Deonarine now at the crease was ready to take up his shift for the rest of the innings. Around him, Pollard and Darren Sammy scored briskly.