Six steps to the cup: Sammy

The unbeaten West Indies are in the box seat to qualify for the ICC World T20 semi-finals but captain Darren Sammy insists they've merely taken two steps towards their goal of lifting the trophy, just as they did in 2012.

The Windies take on South Africa in Nagpur tonight, with the Proteas desperate for a win after losing their opening clash to England before a comfortable victory against Afghanistan signalled the return to form of superstar batsman AB de Villiers.

Since its arrival on the international calendar in 2007, no team has won the World T20 twice, however the power-packed West Indies outfit looks as likely as any after strong wins against England and Sri Lanka that highlighted different strengths within their line-up.

“To us, this is a very important match," Sammy told reporters. "We have six steps to the cup. We have taken two so far.

"Tomorrow it's about taking one more step towards our goal. That step is South Africa. We respect them when we are playing against them but we as a group will focus on what we can do and go out there and execute it well,” Sammy said.

“We have always had great games against South Africa. Hopefully (it) is an exciting match and at the end of the day, West Indies will get the two points needed to qualify for the semi-final."

Sammy's side defeated Sri Lanka in a low-scoring affair in which stand-in opener Andre Fletcher smashed a match-winning 84no in the absence of Chris Gayle, who tweaked a hamstring in the field.

Gayle was at his destructive best in the Windies' tournament opener against England, blazing a century for 48 balls, and Sammy insisted the big-hitting Jamaican was fit to take his place against the Proteas.

Gayle's fitness – and the form of Fletcher – leaves the West Indians with a selection problem at the top of the order. 

"The good thing is that Gayle is fit," he said. "We knew how well Fletcher was batting coming into the tournament. (Fellow opener Johnson) Charles hasn't got a score yet but we know how well he can bat. It's a good (selection) headache to have.

"Whether we let Fletcher or Charles open the batting with Chris, you'll know (Friday night). The good thing is Chris is playing really well. I believe Charles will have his turn to score runs at the top of the order as well. We have a fair idea as to who will open the batting.

"I said at the start of the tournament we have 15 match-winners. Yes, Chris is our biggest player, but there's no pressure on him to perform.

"We, as a group, know what we have. As Fletcher showed, even he can win matches. We know we have 15 match-winners in our dressing room."

Sammy said he was excited by the fact that the full West Indies batting order has not yet been required to showcase their skills at the tournament, with the suggestion that this XI – and particularly its trio of big-hitting allrounders – has plenty more to offer.

"We have won two games batting second and you are yet to see a full innings from (Andre) Russell, myself, Carlos (Brathwaite)," he added.

"The world has not yet seen Carlos in T20 and when that time comes, we all are ready and eager to go out and bat and perform for the team."

The skipper also conceded his side was wary of de Villiers, who has dined out against the men from the Caribbean on no shortage of occasions in the past, but added that the South Africans also boasted a number of match-winners.

"A line-up of Quinton (de Kock), (Hashim) Amla, Faf (du Plessis), AB, (David) Miller – these are all great players," Sammy said.

"Yes, we have got into the rough end of the stick from AB on a lot of occasions. He is a world-class player, but T20 is played on a day when every innings starts fresh.

"We have our plans for him and we also have some very dangerous guys in our team.

"At the end of the day, we just have to score one more run than them and we come out victorious. I hope it's an exciting match. Games with West Indies tend to be exciting, so hopefully we can keep entertaining the way we have been since the inception of T20 and at the end of the day, get a place in the semi-finals."