The West Indies have won the opening match in their Twenty20 international series against South Africa, beating their hosts by four wickets in Cape Town this evening.
The home side won the toss and decided to bat first, but opening batsmen Morne van Wyk and Reeza Hendricks were both removed early on.
Faf du Plessis and Rilee Rossouw provided some resistance, with the latter finishing unbeaten on 51, but Sheldon Cottrell led the West Indies attack to restrict South Africa to 165 off their 20 overs.
Needing 166 for victory, Dwayne Smith and Chris Gayle made a positive start, adding 78 for the opening wicket before Imran Tahir sent Smith back to the pavilion.
Gayle kept the runs coming, finishing with 77 off just 31 balls before edging a Tahir ball behind to Van Wyk, with the tourists needing just 52 more for victory.
It looked like South Africa's score would be high enough though, as Tahir claimed a third wicket before Wayne Parnell got Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell out cheaply.
However, Keiron Pollard held on just long enough to hit the winning runs with four balls to spare, giving the tourists the lead in the series.
Sian Cowper
