West Indies and South Africa started five-match T20I series on Saturday in Grenada. West Indies brought Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Dwayne Bravo back in the squad and instantly found a good outcome of it. West Indies thrashed South Africa by eight wickets.
Andre Russell also made his comeback into the national side with this game. He enjoyed a good outing straight away picking up one wicket in his three overs while 23 runs in just 12 balls to finish off the chase as well.
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Russell came to bat after Evin Lewis got out to Tabraiz Shamsi. He wasted no time and smashed Kagiso Rabada for a huge six on the very first ball of his knock. The monstrous hit landed in stands as Russell collected half-a-dozen runs on the first ball.
Watch the video here:
.@Russell12A returns to T20Is with a bang. Spanks Rabada first ball for a 90m six.
Watch him and a bit of Gayle here.
Russell 23*(12) – 6s*3 , 4s*1. Each six 90m or more. pic.twitter.com/uB7F2Ucm6o— 𝗔𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘆𝗔 (@StarkAditya_) June 27, 2021
Russell scored 23 runs in just 12 balls where he hit one four and three huge sixes.
After winning the toss, West Indian skipper Kieron Pollard elected to bowl first. West Indian bowlers proved their skipper’s decision right by not allowing South African batsmen to run away with the game. Regular wickets didn’t allow South Africa to score runs at a fast pace. Rassie van der Dussen held on end tight and scored unbeaten 56 runs in 38 balls, which includes four fours and two sixes. His efforts propelled South Africa’s score to 160/6 in 20 overs. Fabian Allen and Dwayne Bravo took two wickets each.
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In response, West Indian batsmen looked in hurry to finish the game. Andre Fletcher and Evin Lewis scored 73 runs within the powerplay. The former departed just after that but Lewis was unstoppable. He formed a good partnership with Chris Gayle, who scored 32 runs in 24 balls which consists of three huge sixes and one four.
Andre Russell came after Lewis’ dismissal and finished the formalities with five overs to spare.
The second T20I will be played on Sunday at the same venue. South Africa will try to bounce back after facing a demoralizing defeat.
