South Africa defied a 75-minute stoppage for rain to complete an eight-wicket win in the second one-day international against the West Indies on Sunday.
Chasing a revised target of 124 runs from 33 overs, South Africa hit the jackpot in the 27th over, when Herschelle Gibbs drove a short-of-a-length delivery from Wavell Hinds off the backfoot through extra cover for two runs to give the visitors a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
Opening batsman Boeta Dippenaar top-scored for the South Africans with an undefeated 60 from 78 balls that contained four boundaries and earned the man-of-the-match award.
Dippenaar added 106, unbroken, for the third wicket with Gibbs, who hit one four and two sixes in 44 from 57 balls that carried the South Africans over the threshold.
Ian Bradshaw was the pick of the West Indies bowlers with two wickets for 16 runs from six overs.
”We batted very poorly,” admitted West Indies skipper Shivnarine Chanderpaul. ”It was a decent wicket, maybe a bit slow and we needed to get our heads down.
”We need to get through the new ball and build partnerships. We have to go away and think about it.”
South Africa skipper Graeme Smith praised his team’s convincing performance.
”It was clinical. We bowled well and got it in the right areas and were very disciplined. We kept them under pressure from the word go.”
South Africa, choosing to field, again bowled with discipline to restrict West Indies to a modest 152 for seven from their allocation of 50 overs.
Shaun Pollock was the pick of the South African bowlers with two for 28 from 10 overs, and Charl Langeveldt supported with two for 33 from 10 overs on a hard, slow Sabina Park pitch when West Indies batted under sunny skies.
Wicketkeeper/batsman Courtney Browne, under pressure to keep his place, hit the top score for West Indies of 46 not out from 59 balls that contained half-dozen boundaries.
Browne added 49, unbroken, for the eighth wicket with compatriot Bradshaw that was the highest partnership of the innings.
Chanderpaul contributed 36 from 95 balls that included two fours.
The early wickets of Smith and Jacques Kallis inside the first six overs set back the Proteas in the run chase.
Bradshaw had Smith, a century-maker the previous day when the tourists won the first match, caught at cover for six in the second over, and Kallis caught at mid-wicket in the sixth over to leave the South Africans 18 for two.
West Indies were looking to make a fist of it, when a sharp afternoon shower interrupted the fierce scrap with South Africa 25 for two in the ninth over.
But the West Indies paid for their inept batting that bred a modest total, and Dippenaar and Gibbs had little trouble in knocking off the remaining runs.
Earlier, Makhaya Ntini bowled Chris Gayle with a searing yorker in the fourth over to put West Indies on the backfoot.
When Pollock collected the wickets of Wavell Hinds and batting star Brian Lara, for nought, in the space of 10 balls, the writing was again on the wall for the home team.
Pollock had both left-handers neatly caught at first slip by Smith to leave West Indies 30 for three in the 11th over, and they never fully recovered.
Wickets continued to tumble for the home team and they crashed to 103 for seven before Browne and Bradshaw, who made 17, came with a late flourish to beef up the total.
South Africa won the series opener by an identical margin on Saturday at the same venue, and now look forward to closing out the series with a victory in the third match at Bridgetown on Wednesday.
The series concludes with a double-header next Saturday and Sunday at Port of Spain. – Sapa-AFP