Hashim Amla may have walked away with his second man-of-the-match award in as many matches but Darren Sammy's eleventh hour heroics stole the show in Antigua last night.

South Africa's 300 looked an imposing total and though the wicket was an excellent one for batting, the West Indies' reply was repeatedly stilted by the fall of wickets.

At one stage, needing 119 off 72 balls few would have been betting on the West Indies to have come close to 300, leave alone within 17 runs of it. Darren Sammy scored the fastest 50 by a West Indian batsman in ODI cricket, off 20 balls. But beyond the batting display he put on, he must be commended for the courage it took to bring the equation down from 236 for 8 in the 45th over to 18 runs needed from 13 balls. While Bravo and Pollard had earlier played pedestrian innings, Sammy showed heart.

In the end, consecutive run outs costed the West Indies and they fell 18 short of what would have been a famous victory. It is promising however that the West Indies are showing signs of improvement with every match and perhaps will prove more difficult to beat in the remaining three matches of the series.

Sammy's innings however must not detract from the fact that South Africa have played outstanding cricket. Hashim Amla and Jacques Kalis were unlucky not to reach centuries and AB de Villiers continued his fine form with the bat. Again a sensible brand of cricket was played and while it might not be to the liking of those who prefer Sammy-like innings, it has been effective.