Feb 26 (Reuters) - South Africa are on the verge of securing their place in the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup after captain Aiden Markram's unbeaten knock of 82 led them to a commanding nine-wicket win over West Indies on Thursday.
Markram and Quinton de Kock's 95-run opening partnership helped South Africa chase down a target of 177 with 23 balls to spare, going to the top of Group One in the Super Eights with four points, having also beaten defending champions India on Sunday.
West Indies, who beat Zimbabwe in their previous game, will face India on Sunday in a battle to reach the semi-finals, after the tournament hosts take on Zimbabwe later on Thursday.
"Whether I'm captain or not, opening is a responsibility... we try to make sure the team gets off to a good start especially on wickets like this and hope to continue this," Markram said.
Put in to bat first in Ahmedabad, West Indies were struggling at 43-4 in four overs, as Kagiso Rabada (2-22) dismissed Shai Hope (16) and Shimron Hetmyer (2) before Lungi Ngidi got Brandon King (21 off 11 balls) caught by keeper De Kock and Roston Chase nicked it onto his own leg stump.
Ngidi (3-30) also dismissed Rovman Powell, and in the 11th over Matthew Forde was caught trying to hit Corbin Bosch (2-31) down deep backward square, with the two-time champions looking close to a collapse at 83-7.
But Jason Holder (49) partnered with Romario Shepherd, adding 89 runs for the eighth wicket to give West Indies a fighting chance. Unbeaten Shepherd scored 52 from 37 balls, helping West Indies post 176-8.
MARKRAM AND DE KOCK SET UP VICTORY
South Africa began their chase with Markram hitting Matthew Forde towards point for four, and De Kock hit Shamar Joseph for two sixes in the sixth over to end the powerplay at 69-0.
De Kock (47 off 24 balls) fell to Roston Chase in the eighth over, but it did nothing to slow down South Africa. Markram completed his half-century in 27 balls, and Ryan Rickelton hit Chase for three sixes within four balls to get his team to 155-1 in 14 overs.
Markram, who hit four sixes and seven fours to score 82 from 46 balls, ended his player-of-the-match innings as he began, with a boundary to bring up the winning runs, as South Africa reached 177-1 in 16.1 overs.
"Everything will not be easy. The way we play our cricket, there will be a loss, the aim was to get it out early. Next game will be a quarter-final," West Indies captain Shai Hope said, referring to their make-or-break clash with India.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in BengaluruEditing by Toby Davis)
