South Africa earned their first points of the T20 World Cup 2021 with an impressive eight-wicket win over West Indies at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday, October 26. Proteas suffered a setback with Quinton de Kock not making himself available for selection but they somehow managed to put that behind and string together a good performance. With this win, they are now placed third on the points table while the West Indies remain at the very bottom and this defeat further gave their net run-rate a beating, which is currently -2.550 at the moment. ICC T20 World Cup 2021 Points Table, Super 12: South Africa Register First Win While West Indies Remain Bottom of Group 1 With Second Successive Defeat

West Indies were put to bat first by Temba Bavuma and they did not get off to a good start, scoring just six runs in the first three overs. Evin Lewis let loose subsequently, breaking the shackles to bring some sort of impetus to the West Indies innings. He scored an impressive fifty (56 runs off 35 balls) with six sixes and three fours but Lendl Simmons, his partner at the other end, had a forgettable time at the crease, managing to score 16 runs off 35 balls before Kagiso Rabada eventually ended his painstaking stay at the crease. Following Lewis' dismissal, West Indies never really got going and despite possessing an array of powerful, clean strikers, none of them could actually make a significant impact apart from hitting the occasional boundaries and all they could manage was 143/8 in their 20 overs. Skipper Kieron Pollard was their next best scorer with 26 runs off 20 balls.

South Africa did not have a good beginning to their chase, losing captain Bavuma in the very first over with Andre Russell pulling off a spectacular run-out but that was it from the West Indies. Worth mentioning here is the fact that South Africa did pace their chase well with Rassie van der Dussen being the anchor. Reeza Hendricks, playing instead of de Kock, scored 39 but the best knock came from the bat of Markram as the right-hander played an explosive knock of 51 off just 26 balls to steer his side to a win by eight wickets and 10 balls to spare. SA vs WI Highlights of T20 World Cup 2021 Match 18: South Africa Outplay West Indies by Eight Wickets To Score First Victory

Here are some of the stat highlights of this match:

# Rassie van der Dussen has the lowest strike rate (84.31) by a player in Men's T20 World Cup with his 43 unbeaten runs coming off 51 balls.

#This was the sixth time that a side chasing in Dubai since 2020 in a day game, has won the match.

#Lendl Simmons' slow knock of 16 runs off 35 balls was the third occasion of a batsman playing most deliveries (35) without hitting a four in a T20 World Cup match.

#Aiden Markram's 50 off just 25 balls was the fastest half-century of the T20 World Cup this year.

West Indies would have to regroup from here on and make a difference by winning their remaining three matches--against Australia, Sri Lanka and England, all of whom are in good form. It is unlikely that they go through to the semifinals from here on while South Africa would be relieved to have scored their first win in the tournament this year. They would next face Sri Lanka on October 30 while West Indies would take on Bangladesh a day before.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 26, 2021 08:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).