Captain Aiden Markram led from the front with an unbeaten 86 to steer South Africa to a comfortable nine-wicket victory over the West Indies in the opening match of their three-game Twenty20 international series on Tuesday.
Markram’s 47-ball knock featured nine fours and three sixes. He put on 83 runs with Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who scored 44, and later added an unbroken 93-run stand with Ryan Rickelton as South Africa chased down the target, reaching 176 for one with 13 balls remaining.
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Earlier, left-arm spinner George Linde delivered a match-winning performance with the ball, claiming 3 for 25 to earn the player-of-the-match award. Keshav Maharaj and Corbin Bosch also contributed, taking two wickets each, as the West Indies were restricted to 173 for seven after South Africa won the toss and chose to field.
Shimron Hetmyer was the top scorer for the visitors, hitting 48 off 32 balls with four fours and three sixes. He shared a 74-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Rovman Powell, who remained unbeaten on 29.
The second match of the series will be played on Thursday in Centurion.