Sanju Samson was not India’s first-choice opener in the lead-up to the tournament. India changed that opening combination at the last moment, but Samson still wasn’t their first-choice opener for the first five matches of this World Cup. Brought in as an unlikely Plan B as India faced four must-win matches, Samson powered India’s highest successful chase at the T20 World Cups in the second of those.

It was good defensive bowling from India that restricted West Indies to 195 in this virtual quarter-final, a neat callback to the 2016 semi-final between these two sides when West Indies restricted India to 193. Like India were that night, West Indies were left ruing their opener’s slow innings, a 33-ball 32 from their captain Shai Hope. Outside that, the six-hitting pack scored 163 in 14.3 overs, more than the par for the conditions than their powerplay of 45 for 0.

Lacking extreme pace or mystery in their bowling, West Indies desperately needed asking-rate pressure or errors from batters who haven’t been in too many ICC must-win games. Those mistakes did come from Abhishek Dharma and Ishan Kishan, but Samson batted regally for his 97 not out off 50, taking few low-percentage options, reaching his first fifty in 13 innings in just 26 balls. This was the first time in the IPL and T20Is that Samson opened and stayed unbeaten in a successful chase, at the end of which he collapsed to his knees, looked at the heavens and crossed his heart.

South Africa took an unbeaten record into the T20 World Cup semi-finals after overcoming an inspired performance from Sikandar Raza (73 off 43 and 3 for 29). Aiden Markram’s men successfully chased down a target of 154 in Delhi and will now travel to Kolkata to face New Zealand in the first of what they will hope are two knockout matches.

He scored 73 of the 98 runs that Zimbabwe got while he was in the middle. That included 12 of the team’s 13 boundaries. His strike rate was nearly 170. The other end’s was 86.

Between overs 4.3 and 16.3, Raza was all that mattered. He showed game smarts when he saw South Africa turn to their change bowler to get out of the powerplay and smashed Corbin Bosch for 15 runs. He showed a simplicity of method. Clearing the front leg was the only premeditation he afforded himself. From there, if the ball was pitched up, he would present the full face and crack it through the off side. If it was short, he would go horizontal bat and whack it over the leg side.

Kwena Maphaka19, was playing only his second game of the T20 World Cup. He was able to hit speeds in the low 140kph. He got movement with both the new ball and the old one. He signed off his spell – 4-0-21-2 – with a wicked offcutter that the batter just wasn’t ready for. And he took down the man who was taking down everyone else. Maphaka went around the wicket to Raza in the 17th over and got one to straighten on the batter, who, playing for the initial angle and closing the bat face, ended up popping a skier to David Miller at point.

With Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj and Marco Jansen rested ahead of the semi-finals, South Africa’s bench players had an opportunity to step up and they did pretty well. Left-arm spinner George Linde opened the bowling and came away with figures of 3-0-22-1. Anrich Nortje chipped in with 4-0-29-1.

Opening the bowling in the chase, he recorded the 41st instance of an off-spinner dismissing a left-hand batter in this T20 World Cup. Quinton de Kock was out for a duck.

Raza turned his sights on his opposite number then. He stashed the ball on top of a bent middle finger. The carrom ball grip. Markram didn’t clock it. He only responded to the length of the ball which was a touch short. Markram went back and wound up to hit it over the leg side. Next second, his middle stump was on the ground. Undefeated South Africa were 14 for 2 in the third over.

At the other end, Brad Evans produced a back-of-the-hand bouncer that hit Ryan Rickelton on the helmet and left him in the South Africa team doctor’s care for several long minutes. Eventually he was cleared of his concussion and he seemed set on showing he wasn’t too fazed by the blow, hitting three sixes off his next five balls. But when he tried to take on Evans’ short ball again, he toe-ended it and Ryan Burl on the deep-square-leg boundary took a great catch (after initially running in too far). Back playing a day game, Zimbabwe’s fielding mistakes vanished. They don’t play a lot of floodlit cricket back home and dropped several catches when they gave up 254 against West Indies and 256 against India.

South Africa finished the powerplay on 43 runs and lost three wickets in the process. That paired Brevis (42 off 18) with Miller and resulted in some of the most eye-catching strokeplay of the game, even if Brevis wasn’t particularly interested in following one of the balls he hit into the crowd at long-on. The fourth-wicket partnership steadied the chase with 50 runs in 25 balls.

Castle Corner was in the crowd in Delhi. Dancing all the way. Zimbabwe drew on those positive vibes to break the stand that was taking the game away from them, Blessing Muzarabani knocking over Miller to pick up his 12th wicket and go to No. 2 on the list of top wicket-takers in this tournament and Raza dismissing Brevis four balls later. South Africa were 101 for 5 in the 11th over chasing 154. They were still favourites but they had been pushed.

Brief scores:
South Africa 154 for 5 in 17.5 overs  (Dewald Brevis 42, Ryan  Rickelton 31, David Miller 22, Tristan Stubs 21*, George Linde 30*; Sikandar Raza 3-29, Blessing Muzarabani 1-32, Brad Evans 1-22) beat Zimbabwe 153 for 7 in 20 overs (Brian Benett 15, Dion Myers 11, Sikandar Raza 73, Clive Madande 26*; George Linde 1-22, Kwena Maphaka 2-21, Lungi Ngidi 1-29, Anrich Nortje 1-29, Corbin Bosch 2-40)  by five wickets

[Cricinfo]