West Indies defeated South Africa in a nail-biting thriller to win the 3rd T20I  at Johannesburg. It was a rain-marred game in which each side was allotted just 10 overs to complete their batting innings. South Africa fell short of chasing the DLS-adjusted target of 125 runs, as West Indies held their nerves to win the match by 6 runs.

Batting first, the West Indies got off to a horrible start, as Johnson Charles was removed early in the innings. Shai Hope then built a solid partnership with Shimron Hetmyer to take the innings forward, as South African bowlers failed to counter their plans.

Shai Hope was looking good to score a fifty, but Keshav Maharaj dismissed him for 48 runs to give South Africa a big breakthrough. Fortunately, his dismissal didn’t change Hetmyer’s plans, as he kept striking the ball aggressively to take the scoreboard forward. Due to his rapid knock of 48 runs, the West Indies managed to score 114 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in the first innings.

Coming out to chase the target, South Africa didn’t look comfortable at the crease due to tight West Indian bowling. Apart from Quinton de Kock, no other batter managed to play well, as Gudakesh Motie and Akeal Hosein took quick wickets early on. Due to that, South Africa never found momentum to chase the target, as the required run rate kept getting higher.

A late order cameo by Jason Smith made the match slightly interesting, as he scored a quick 26 off 10 balls to get closer to the target. However, Shamar Joseph held his nerve in the last over to defend the total, giving West Indies a vital victory by 6 runs. Gudakesh Motie was named Player of the Match, as he took 3 wickets for 17 runs to dismantle the South African top order.