Cool South Africa edge out West Indies to enter semi-final of T20 World Cup
North Sound (Antigua) (PTI): South Africa's golden generation of white-ball cricketers took a big step towards erasing the "eternal chokers" tag by keeping their composure to enter the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, beating a formidable West Indies by three wickets in a thrilling rain-truncated Super 8s game here.
After part-time magician and full-time wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (3/27), along with his slow bowling colleagues Keshav Maharaj (1/24) and skipper Aiden Markram (1/28), restricted West Indies to a manageable 135 for 8, South Africa achieved the revised target of 123 with five balls to spare.
The Proteas were 15/2 in two overs when rain disrupted proceedings.
With this win, South Africa topped Group 1 followed by defending champions England as the second semifinalist from it.
Tristan Stubbs (29 off 27 balls), one of the most talked-about among young T20 batters, set up the chase in company of Heinrich Klaasen (22 off 10 balls) for the South Africans.
But it was Marco Jansen (21 not out off 14 balls), who hit a beautiful six down the ground off the first ball of the 17th over bowled by left-arm pacer Obed McCoy to seal the deal.
Equally praiseworthy was Kagiso Rabada's copybook cover drive off Roston Chase when South Africa required 9 off 7 balls.
"Lot of relief to get through to the semifinal. We would have liked to be a lot more convincing," said South African skipper Aiden Markram.
In a contest that was headlined by the most revered names in T20 history, two under-rated cricketers held forte.
Barbados' Roston Chase (52 and 3/12), who year-after-year goes unsold in the IPL and Jansen, who displayed the less talked-about virtue of composure, much required in down-the-wire chases.
It was an unfair rain-rule in the 1992 ODI World Cup that saw South Africa bow out of the semi-finals against England and often the Proteas found ways to lose important games of cricket.
But on Sunday night in North Sound, the one hour rain delay did a world of good for their batters as the pitch suddenly became better for batting with the ball skidding and coming on easily.
Also unforgettable was how left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie (1/20), lost his length. His only over cost 20 which did contribute a lot to the co-hosts' defeat.
In a game full of T20 prima donnas, it was the Stubbs, Klaasens, Millers and Markrams who had the last laugh over the Andre Russells, Rovman Powells and Nicholas Poorans.
On a track where ball wasn't always coming on to the bat, the South African spin troika was excellent with five wickets shared between Markram, Keshav Maharaj and Shamsi for 79 run in 12 cumulative overs.
Skipper Markram, who opened the bowling did a stellar job by removing opposition's most destructive batter Nicholas Pooran (1), inviting him to go for a heave, only to hole out at long-off.
Kyle Mayers (35 off 34) and West Indies' most useful player across formats -- Roston Chase (52 off 42 balls) -- carried out a commendable rescue act with 81 runs added for the third wicket in little under 11 overs.
At 86 for two, the duo had built the platform for a respectable total with big hitters like Andre Russell and Rovman Powell still in the dug-out but things changed drastically due to the way Shamsi and Maharaj bowled.
Both were not afraid to toss the ball up and entice the batters to go for expansive drives and it did pay dividends.
Maharaj bowled a dream delivery for a classical left-arm spinner to get rid of of West Indies skipper Powell.
Maharaj flighted one above his eyeline, drawing Powell forward but it dipped late and then turned away after pitching only for De Kock to complete the stumping.
Shamsi, at the other end was dead accurate, not trying to turn too much, and pitching his deliveries in the leg-middle line not giving batters room to manoeuvre. Both Mayers and Chase were dismissed trying to free the shackles.
Skipper Markram's planning was impeccable and Kagiso Rabada was only brought into the attack in the 18th over and bowled a couple of overs.
Andre Russell, who hit a couple of sixes off Anrich Nortje, could have inflicted more damage but a direct throw from the bowler during a Rabada over found the all-rounder short of his ground and ended the hosts' chances of crossing the 150-run mark.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Azerbaijani airliner with 67 people onboard crashes in Kazakhstan leaving 32 survivors
Moscow, Dec 25: An Azerbaijani airliner with 67 people onboard crashed Wednesday in the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, leaving at least 32 survivors, according to officials. More than 30 people are likely dead.
Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry said in a Telegram statement that those on board included five crew. At least 29 have been hospitalized, the ministry told Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti.
Russian news agency Interfax quoted medical workers as saying that four bodies have been recovered and emergency workers at the scene as saying that both pilots, according to a preliminary assessment, died in the crash.
The Embraer 190 aircraft made an emergency landing 3 km from the city, Azerbaijan Airlines said earlier.
Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry initially said 25 people survived the crash, later revising that number to 27, 28, and then 29 as the search and rescue operation continued at the site of the crash, bringing the supposed death toll down.
Prosecutor General's Office in Azerbaijan later reported that at least 32 people survived the crash, adding that the number wasn't final.
The number of survivors could mean that over 30 people may be dead.
The plane was originally scheduled to travel from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus. According to Azerbaijan Airlines, 37 passengers were Azerbaijani citizens. There were also 16 Russian nationals, six Kazakhstani and three Kyrgyzstani citizens, it said.
RIA Novosti quoted Russia's civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, as saying that preliminary information showed that the pilot had chosen to divert to Aktau after a bird strike on the aircraft led to “an emergency situation on board”.
Mobile phone footage circulating online appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before smashing into the ground in a fireball. Other footage showed part of its fuselage ripped away from the wings and the rest of the aircraft, lying upside in the grass. The footage corresponded to the plane's colors and its registration number.
Some of the videos posted on social media showed survivors dragging fellow passengers away from the wreckage of the plane.
Flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24.com showed the aircraft making what appeared to be a figure-right once nearing the airport in Aktau, its altitude moving up and down substantially over the last minutes of the flight before impacting the ground.
FlightRadar24 separately said in an online post that the aircraft had faced “strong GPS jamming” which “made the aircraft transmit bad ADS-B data”, referring to the information that allows flight-tracking websites to follow planes in flight. Russia has been blamed in the past for jamming GPS transmissions in the wider region.
Embraer did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Wednesday morning. In a statement, Azerbaijan Airlines said it would keep members of the public updated and changed its social media banners to solid black.
Azerbaijan's state news agency, Azertac, said that an official delegation consisting of Azerbaijan's emergency situations minister, the country's deputy general prosecutor, and the vice president of Azerbaijan Airlines had been dispatched to Aktau to conduct an “on-site investigation”.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who had been traveling to St Petersburg, returned to Azerbaijan on hearing news of the crash, the president's press service said. Aliyev was due to attend an informal meeting of leaders of Commonwealth of Independent States, a bloc of former Soviet countries founded after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Aliyev expressed his condolences to the families of the victims in a statement on social media. “It is with deep sadness that I express my condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to those injured,” he wrote.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Aliyev on the phone and expressed his condolences, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Both Kazakhstani and Azerbaijani authorities were investigating the crash. Embraer told The Associated Press in a statement that the company is “ready to assist all relevant authorities.”
Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane flying from Baku to Grozny crashed in Aktau, Kazakhstan. pic.twitter.com/EnicqHcTGM
— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 25, 2024
