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AB De Villiers, Chris Gayle Flop With The Bat As Rare Bowl-Out Decides WCL Thriller

Soumyajit Dutta

AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle [Source: @Monish09cric/X.com]AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle [Source: @Monish09cric/X.com]

Cricket legends AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle endured rare failures as the South Africa Champions edged the West Indies Champions in a dramatic bowl-out after their WCL T20 clash ended in a nerve-shredding tie at Edgbaston. Even after raring and pumping each other ahead of the WCL Clash, the megastars failed to produce much of a result with their bat.

The Legends Collapse Poorly

The 'Universe Boss' Chris Gayle fell for just 2 off 6 balls, meekly chipping Hardus Viljoen to mid-off in the 2nd over. His early dismissal derailed the West Indies' powerplay.

As of AB de Villiers, the South African maestro fared little better, but nothing to be proud of if compared to his standards, as he scored only 3 off 4 balls. He edged Sulieman Benn's left-arm spin straight to slip in the 3rd over, leaving South Africa reeling at 8/2.

West Indies' Stuttering Innings

Speaking of the WCL match, put in to bat, the West Indies Champions never recovered from Gayle's early exit. Dwayne Smith (7) and Kieron Pollard (0) fell cheaply. Lendl Simmons provided brief impetus with 28 off 21 balls (2 sixes), but wickets fell consistently.

Chadwick Walton (27* off 21) anchored the lower order, but tight bowling from Aaron Phangiso (2/19) and JJ Smuts (1/12) restricted them to a below-par 79/5 in their rain-reduced 11 overs. Only 27 runs came from the final 5 overs.

South Africa's Nervy Chase

South Africa's chase mirrored the Windies' struggles. After Levi (5) and de Villiers fell quickly, Hashim Amla (15) and Sarel Erwee (27 off 18) rebuilt carefully. Erwee's run-out sparked a collapse from 50/3 to 79/6. 

JP Duminy (25* off 12, 2 sixes) played a vital cameo under pressure, hitting boundaries off Dwayne Bravo in the 10th over to tie the scores before Morne van Wyk fell first ball and Wayne Parnell survived the final delivery to force the bowl-out.

The Dramatic Bowl-Out Decider

With scores level, the match went to a sudden-death bowl-out. South Africa struck first blood through JJ Smuts. Chris Morris and Aaron Phangiso missed for SACH, but Wayne Parnell nailed the crucial 5th attempt. 

West Indies faltered badly. Fidel Edwards, Sheldon Cottrell, and Ashley Nurse all missed the stumps entirely. Needing to hit with their 4th attempt to stay alive, Dwayne Bravo also failed, handing South Africa a dramatic victory in the novel finish. South Africa won the bowl-out 2-0.