West Indies 179 for 6 (Hope 41, Powell 35, Williams 3-36, Kruger 2-29) beat South Africa 149 (Hendricks 44, Stubbs 28, Shepherd 3-15, Shamar 3-31) by 30 runs

West Indies have won their third successive series against South Africa by defending 179 at the Brian Lara Academy, where they dismantled a chase that was well set-up. South Africa were 129 for 3 in the 14th over but lost 7 for 20 in 35 balls and were bowled out for 149 in 19.4 overs to fall short by 30 runs.

West Indies would have known that the total they posted was gettable after they pulled off the highest successful chase at the venue – 175 – two days ago and South Africa were off to a quick start. They raced to 100 inside 10 overs but West Indies conceded only one boundary between 10th and 14th overs and forced South Africa into making mistakes that ultimately cost them the game.

South Africa’s middle-order will be a cause for concern after only one batter from No.3 down got past 20 in a match where individual run-scoring accolades were scarce. There were no half-centuries across the two teams but West Indies were clearly the better big-hitting side. They hit 13 sixes compared to South Africa’s six, which may be one marker of where the game was won. Another is that West Indies scored 50 runs in their last five overs and the 47-run stand between Rovman Powell and Sherfane Rutherford also gave West Indies the edge.