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South Africa ended up on the losing side after putting up a hard-fought battle against a strong West Indies side in the final T20I match of three-match series on Tuesday at the Wanderers Stadium.
South Africa once again found themselves in a tough spot after West Indies managed to put up a score of 220 on the board. In the post-match conference, South African skipper Aiden Markram gave his verdict on the series decider. "Good game for the neutral viewer. Fell few runs short at the end. There was a stage when we would have liked to wrap it up for 170-180. Anything under 200 was our goal. It is always ifs and buts. But we should do some self reflection. To stop batters at these venues, you need wickets. You always need to keep attacking. Was challenging at times. Not great to lose. Hurting a little," Markram said. South African opening pair once again laid the groundwork. Reeza Hendricks's knock of 83(44) acted as the fuel which kept the scoreboard ticking in the midst of the battle. When things started to heat up Markram stepped in to play an unbeaten captain's knock of 35(18)*. In the 19th over Alzarri Joseph broke South Africa's momentum by picking up wickets of the power hitter Heinrich Klaasen and Wayne Parnell. Markram bore the entire weight of South Africa's hope of clinching the series in the final over. With 26 runs needed in the last 6 balls, Markram had a bit too much in the end. After the match, West Indies skipper Rovman Powell collected the trophy and the whole West Indies team celebrated together. South Africa does not have much time to fret over their series loss against West Indies. In less than two days South Africa will be back in action to play a crucial two-match ODI series against the Netherlands. Their fate will be in their own hands as this series will decide whether they will directly qualify for the upcoming ICC Men's Cricket World Cup. South Africa will play their first match against Netherlands at Sahara Park Willowmoore Cricket Stadium on Friday. (ANI)
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