South Africa vs. West Indies 2015, 4th ODI: Highlights, Scorecard, Report

Andre Russell steered West Indies to a one-wicket victory in the fourth one-day international at Port Elizabeth, with hosts South Africa learning valuable lessons about the depth of their World Cup squad.

The Proteas looked in control for much of the contest, even without the likes of Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn, but they failed to close out the game and paid the price.

Russell's 64 not out from 40 balls included five maximums, and restored some much-needed pride to the Caribbean team.

"

This is the first time West Indies have beaten South Africa in an ODI since November 2nd 2006; 3006 days & 16 matches ago. #SAvWI

— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) January 25, 2015"

The series is already won, but South Africa will be disheartened by the loss as they head into the final game at Centurion on Wednesday.

Batsman	Dismissal	Bowler	Runs	Mins	Balls
van Wyk	c Ramdin	b Cottrell	18	29	24
Rossouw	c Sammy	b Cottrell	4	9	3
du Plessis	c Ramdin	b Holder	4	16	11
De Villiers	c Ramdin	b Russell	19	36	25
Miller	not out		130	189	133
Duminy	c and b Sammy		43	86	68
Behardien		b Holder	12	25	16
Parnell		b Holder	12	33	17
Phangiso	c Johnson	b Holder	0		1
Abbott	not out		1		2
Extras	0nb 17w 0b 2lb	19
Total	for 8 (50.0 ovs)	262
Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Cottrell	6.0	0	39	2
Holder	10.0	1	53	4
Russell	10.0	1	60	1
Sammy	10.0	1	46	1
K Brathwaite	10.0	1	39	0
Samuels	3.0	0	19	0
Gayle	1.0	0	4	0

Batting first, South Africa struggled as Rilee Roussouw and Faf du Plessis both fell for single-figure scores. Without the settling presence of Amla, and AB de Villiers failing to work his magic for once, the score was swiftly 76-4 in the 15th over, leaving a huge burden on the middle order.

David Miller rose to that pressure, however, scoring the first century of his ODI career. Though his role has typically been that of finisher, it will hearten the Proteas to know he can also bat a long stretch if required.

He found some support from JP Duminy, who added 46, but this was largely a one-man show, with Miller unbeaten on 130 from 133 balls at the end of the innings. It propped the score up to 262-8.

Batsman	Dismissal	Bowler	Runs	Mins	Balls
Dwayne Smith		b M Morkel	0	2	3
Gayle	c Behardien	b Duminy	10	26	19
Johnson	run out (De Villiers)		18	55	40
Samuels		b Behardien	68	145	93
Ramdin	lbw	b Behardien	3	8	5
Carter	run out (Miller)		5	20	13
Sammy	c De Villiers	b Parnell	51	66	52
Russell	not out		64	63	40
Holder	c Miller	b Duminy	13	17	12
K Brathwaite	run out (De Villiers)		11	22	14
Cottrell	not out		1	6	1
Extras	1nb 14w 4b 3lb	22
Total	for 9 (48.3 ovs)	266
Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
M Morkel	9.0	1	58	1
Abbott	9.3	1	62	0
Duminy	6.0	0	29	2
Phangiso	10.0	1	41	0
Parnell	10.0	0	48	1
Behardien	4.0	0	21	2

But in response, the West Indies began in familiarly fragile fashion. Dwayne Smith had his stumps rearranged after just three deliveries. Chris Gayle fell prey to the part-time spin of Duminy first ball. Leon Johnson, Denesh Ramdin and Jonathan Carter made little impression, and the West Indies were 73-5.

Remarkably, though, that was not the end of the story. A stand of 93 between Marlon Samuels and Darren Sammy (51) resuscitated the innings, even though it felt the Proteas were only ever one wicket away from triumphing.

When Sammy departed, there were still 96 runs to be scored, and though Russell started confidently, the loss of Samuels for 68, bowled by Farhaan Behardien, looked to be the decisive blow.

Again, the West Indies fought on. Russell needed DRS to overturn an edge given out against him—technology showed he had not made contact with the ball. AB de Villiers put down a chance in the slips to the surprise of all.

And though there were still 23 runs to fetch when Carlos Brathwaite became the ninth wicket to fall, the decision to bowl the spin of Aaron Phangiso to Russell in the 48th over proved crucial.

Two straight sixes proved crucial and helped seal a remarkable heist.