Match overview

West Indies Cricket beat South Africa Cricket by 6 runs at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, on 31 January 2026. Batting first, West Indies managed 114/3, a total that looked well below par on a ground with an average first-innings score of 204. South Africa needed only 115 to win but collapsed to 118/6, handing West Indies a victory that ended a run of three consecutive defeats in this series. G Motie was named Player of the Match, reflecting a bowling display that did far more than the batting did to secure the result.

The match turned inside South Africa's powerplay. Chasing a small target, the hosts lost 4 wickets in the first six overs while scoring 63 runs. Compare that to West Indies' powerplay of 66/1 and the difference becomes clear: West Indies built their innings with relative control, South Africa sacrificed theirs in pursuit of quick runs they didn't need. By the time the middle overs arrived, South Africa required experienced contributions from the remaining batters, but the pressure told and they finished 6 runs short.

For West Indies, this was their first win of the series after losing the first three matches, two of them by 9 wickets. The margin here was narrow but the manner of victory, limiting South Africa to 118 on a pitch where 204 is the norm, suggests their bowlers have the tools to cause problems even when the batters don't fire.

Venue and conditions

New Wanderers Stadium has hosted 164 T20 matches, making it one of the better-documented venues in the format. The average first-innings score sits at 204 and the average second-innings score at 172, both figures suggesting the ground rewards attacking cricket. The average powerplay produces 38 runs, meaning both teams exceeded that benchmark in this match, though South Africa's cost of 4 wickets made their 63-run powerplay pyrrhic.

Teams winning the toss have chosen to field on 59% of occasions, which is in line with South Africa's decision here. Chasing, however, is no guarantee: sides batting second win only 46% of matches at the Wanderers, one of the lower chase-success rates on the South African circuit. The pitch tends to offer something for pace bowlers early, which may partly explain both the wicket clusters in the powerplay and the way both totals fell short of the historical averages.

The death overs data for this match shows 0 runs from 0 overs for both innings, suggesting the match was concluded inside the first 16 overs or so. That points to either a brisk finish or a collapse, consistent with South Africa's innings unravelling before they could see out the target.

How to watch

T20 internationals between West Indies and South Africa are available in the UK via Sky Sports Cricket, with live streaming through Sky Go and NOW TV for those without a satellite subscription. Sky holds the primary rights to most international bilateral series featuring these sides in the UK market. Check the Sky Sports schedule for exact UK broadcast times, which will reflect South Africa Standard Time plus one hour.

Recent form

South Africa came into this match having won their last three T20Is against West Indies in 2026, all by substantial margins: 9 wickets, 7 wickets, and 9 wickets respectively. Before that run against West Indies, they had lost two successive matches to India in 2025, so their form has been mixed against top-tier opposition. West Indies, for their part, had lost four of their last five T20Is entering this fixture, including the three defeats earlier in this series and two losses to New Zealand in 2025. The win in Johannesburg is their first positive result since victories over South Africa at Brian Lara Stadium in 2024, when they won consecutive matches by 8 wickets and 30 runs. Whether this result marks a turning point in the series or merely a one-off will become clear in the next fixture.