West Indies book semi spot in Nagpur nailbiter

The match in a tweet: West Indies hold their nerve for a narrow win in battle of the faltering batting line-ups. Windies advance to WT20 semis, Proteas hang tough

The hero: Marlon Samuels was derided throughout the last Australian summer for looking distinterested and wasting his talent. He showed his prowess at the shortest format in Nagpur tonight though, becoming just the second man to score 1,000 T20 international runs (behind teammate Chris Gayle) and scoring a composed 43 that broke the back of the run chase. On a night when all batsmen found it tough, Samuels made it look like a different game, scoring at less than a run a ball, he played to the situation rather than looking for a spot on the highlight reel. But he was left kicking himself as he fell in the 19th over with just 10 more runs to get.

The support cast: Carlos Brathwaite deserves mention for calmly despatching Kagiso Rabada deep into the stands in the final over to all but seal the win for the West Indies. But this was a victory set-up by the bowlers. Chris Gayle is often a reluctant bowler, but when called upon to bowl first change by his skipper, Gayle did so with aplomb, and promptly picked up the wicket of Rilee Rossouw. His second wicket, bowling David Miller, was a peach. Gayle celebrated by striking a pose of quiet contemplation mid-pitch while his teammates exulted around him. Andre Russell also claimed two key catches, and his sharp work in the field in the very first over to run out Hashim Amla set the tone for the Windies and put the Protea collapse into motion. Dwayne Bravo also chimed in with two wickets, none bigger than the trademark slower ball that totally deceived AB de Villiers to send South Africa's Superman on his way for 10.

The consolation effort: Quinton de Kock continues his emergence as a batsman not to be dismissed lightly. De Kock was complicit in Amla's run-out, the quick single was always a risky attempt to Andre Russell, but to the 23-year-old's credit, he didn't let it distract him. As wickets tumbled around him, he played judiciously, picking singles regularly, and pushing through twos. He lofted Samuel Badree for one straight six but struck just three other boundaries. He was bowled attempting a sweep three short of a half-century with overs running out and the Proteas desperate for more runs.

The stat: West Indies skipper Darren Sammy is a big-hitting, fast bowling allrounder. Prior to this match he had yet to face a ball, or bowl one either. He didn't bowl himself again during South Africa's innings, but at least he got to bat. His innings lasted one ball, an Imran Tahir googly crashing into his middle stump after sailing past his inside edge.

The wash-up: They were celebrating on both sides of the Atlantic after this victory. The West Indies win also kept the door ajar for England's hopes of reaching the World T20 semi-finals, and they will join the West Indies in the next stage if they can beat Sri Lanka on Saturday night.

For the Proteas, they must hope Sri Lanka win – but not by too great a margin – and then ensure they beat Sri Lanka in the Super 10 stage's final match. Such a scenario would see the Proteas sneak into the semi-finals on net run rate. The romantics will be cheering for this course, as it would set up a 20-over version of last year's epic 50-over World Cup semi-final between South Africa and New Zealand.