ROSEAU, Dominica,CMC – West Indies slumped to another defeat, when Hashim Amla fashioned his third One-day International hundred to lead South Africa to a seven-wicket victory in the fourth ODI yesterday.
The Windies failed to defend a target of 304, as Amla stroked nine fours and two sixes in 129 from 115 balls to anchor South Africa to a victory, which gives them a 4-0 lead in the five-match series.
The home team’s bowling and fielding again let them down, as Amla reached his second hundred of the series from 94 balls with a triple to third man off West Indies captain Chris Gayle, bowling his uncomplicated off-spin in the 30th over.
No West Indies bowler could effectively contain the visitors’ batting, and Jacques Kallis gave support with 51 from 54 balls, and A.B. deVilliers was unbeaten on 57 from 64 balls.
Dwayne Bravo brought a capacity crowd at Windsor Park to its feet in a dramatic final over from which South Africa needed three to win.
Bravo followed a single to deVilliers, and a leg-bye to J.P. Duminy, with three scoreless deliveries to leave South Africa needing a single from the last ball.
Darren Sammy however, failed to run out deVilliers with his throw to the bowler’s end from mid-wicket, as the South Africa stand-in wicketkeeper/batsman scrambled to make his ground off the last ball.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Dale Richards gathered half-centuries, as West Indies gave their best batting performance of the series, after they chose to bat on a hard, true pitch.
Chanderpaul struck just three boundaries in the top score of 66 from 89 balls, and Richards smote seven fours and one six in 59 from 73 balls, as West Indies reached 303 for six from their allocation of 50 overs.
For the first time in the series, the West Indies batsmen got their act together collectively, with Dwayne Bravo supporting with 46, his younger brother Darren not out on 45, Gayle hitting a flourishing 29 at the top, and Kieron Pollard lashing a typically rapid 26 from 18 balls.
They all played their part in a string of partnerships that led West Indies to their highest total of the series on either side, as well as their second highest-ever ODI total against the Proteas.
Gayle was caught at deep cover in the 11th over off Morne Morkel, following an opening stand of 64 with Richards.
When Richards was caught at extra cover off Lonwabo Tsotsobe in the 23rd over, this followed a stand of 51 for the second wicket with Chanderpaul.
The elder Bravo was then bowled, when he played back and across a delivery from Tsotsobe in 38th over, after a partnership of 76 for the third wicket with Chanderpaul.
After Chanderpaul was caught at deep mid-wicket in the 42nd over off Ryan McLaren, Pollard joined the younger Bravo, and put on 59 before he and Darren Sammy fell to successive deliveries from Charl Langeveldt in the 48th over.
But the West Indies were immediately put on the defensive, when Amla and South Africa captain Graeme Smith put on 59 inside the first 10 overs for the first wicket.
When Bravo bowled Smith for 23, West Indies wilted under the weight of a second wicket stand of 119 between Amla and Kallis that put the South Africans firmly on course for victory.
Gayle was the grieving bowler, when Amla reached his milestone, but he rejoiced, when Kallis top-edged a slog/sweep, and was caught at deep backward square leg from the very next delivery.
Dale Richards then muffed a chance at deep mid-wicket to epitomise the slothful West Indies fielding, when Amla, on 106, skied a delivery from Gayle in the 32nd over.
The West Indies bowlers continued to feel the weight of Amla’s bat until he was caught at long-off, wearily lofting a delivery from Kieron Pollard, to leave South Africa needing 80 from the final 76 balls.
Any hopes of a West Indies fight-back went up in smoke, when Duminy joined deVilliers, and strolled the rest of the way, although Bravo’s final over turned it into a sprint.
West Indies trail 0-4 in the five-match series, after the opening match by 66 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis Method two Saturdays ago at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua, where they also fell to a 17-run defeat in the second ODI, as well as the third ODI by 67 runs last Friday at this venue.
The series come to a close on Thursday with the fifth and final ODI taking place at Queen’s Park Oval in the Trinidad & Tobago capital of Port of Spain.
CAPTION) A Lonwabo Tsotsobe delivery knocked Dwayne Bravo’s middle stump out of the ground (Photo courtesy cricinfo).

Scoreboard
WEST INDIES (50 overs maximum)
D. Richards c *Smith b Tsotsobe 59
*C. Gayle c Duminy b Morkel 29
S. Chanderpaul c Tsotsobe b McLaren 66
D.J. Bravo b Tsotsobe 46
D.M. Bravo not out 45
K. Pollard b Langeveldt 26
D. Sammy b Langeveldt 0
D. Bernard not out 13
Extras (b1, lb8, nb10) 19
TOTAL (6 wkts, 50 overs) 303
+D. Ramdin, S. Benn, R. Rampaul did not bat
Fall of wickets: 1-64 (*Gayle, 10.4 overs); 2-115 (Richards, 22.6); 3-191 (D.J. Bravo, 37.6); 4-223 (Chanderpaul, 41.2); 5-282 (Pollard, 47.4); 6-282 (Sammy, 47.5)
Bowling: Langeveldt 8-0-59-2 (w1); Tsotsobe 8-0-48-2 (w1); Morkel 8-0-56-1 (w3); McLaren 10-1-45-1; Kallis 5-1-27-0; Botha 10-0-50-0 (w5); Duminy 1-0-9-0

SOUTH AFRICA (target: 304 from 50 overs)
*G. Smith b D.J. Bravo 23
H. Amla c Bernard b Pollard 129
J. Kallis c (sub) Dowlin b *Gayle 51
+A. de Villiers not out 57
J. Duminy not out 32
D. Miller, J. Botha, R. McLaren, M. Morkel, C. Langeveldt, L. Tsotsobe did not bat
Fall of wickets: 1-59 (*Smith, 9.3 overs); 2-178 (Kallis, 29.3); 3-224 (Amla, 37.2)
Bowling: Bernard 4-0-25-0; Rampaul 9-0-58-0; D.J. Bravo 7-0-41-1; Sammy 7-0-34-0; Benn 4-0-22-0; *Gayle 10-0-60-1; Pollard 9-0-58-1
Result: South Africa won by seven wickets