We came here to win and qualify for semis: Sammy

West Indies captain Darren Sammy said their main objective coming into today’s match against South Africa was to qualify for the semifinals and he was delighted to have accomplished the task here.

In-form West Indies continued their unbeaten run and defeated South Africa by three wickets to seal their spot in the semifinals of the ICC World Twenty20.

With three wins out of as many games, West Indies thus became the second team after New Zealand to enter the semi-finals of the marque event.

“Yes I was smiling because of the position the game was, but there were butterflies in there. We came here to win this match and qualify, and we’ve done that, so we’re really happy,’ a delighted Sammy said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Sammy commended his teammates for holding on to their nerves under pressure situations while chasing South Africa;s 122 for eight.

“Today we were under pressure chasing a low total, and every decision we took out there they (players) responded. But I really want to commend my team on (how my team coped with the pressure),” he said.

South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis said they were not at their best today and played a catch-up game in the entire match today.

“It felt like the whole game we were half a step behind West Indies and we were trying to catch up the whole time,” he said.

“10 runs maybe more from the batters - 135 deck. But a great fight by the boys. This game makes us all very old, very quickly! West Indies were just a little bit better than us today.”

Man-of-the-match Marlon Samuels, who scored a run-a-ball 44 for West Indies, said it was difficult to play shots on the pitch and credited South African bowlers for putting up a fight.

“Sometimes you have to bat according to situation. The pitch was a bit on the slow side, but credit to South Africa. They bowled in good areas,” he said.