South Africa's Makhaya Ntini (left) appeals for the wicket of West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul (right) during their Twenty20 international in Johannesburg yesterday. - AP

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CMC):

Shaun Pollock's wealth of experience and level head proved critical, as the former captain showed leadership when it mattered in guiding South Africa to a series-equalling four-wicket victory over West Indies with four balls to spare in the second and final Twenty20 International under lights at The Wanderers yesterday.

Pollock top-scored with an unbeaten 36 and featured in an unbroken seventh-wicket stand of 68 in 35 balls with Albie Morkel (28 not out) that took the home side past the visitors' competitive total of 131 for seven.

Having also kept West Indies in check with figures of one for 19 off four overs after they were put in on a damp, heavily overcast evening, it was inevitable that Pollock would be named Man of the Match.

Put in on a pitch freshened by the moisture of the day and with the overcast conditions persisting, the West Indies top order laboured against South Africa's array of seamers, most of whom extracted exaggerated bounce and often alarming seam movement from a very helpful surface.

Early wickets

Makhaya Ntini made the early inroads, running out Devon Smith off his own bowling before claiming the wicket of Marlon Samuels to reduce the Caribbean side to 30 for two.

He returned to claim the important wicket of Dwayne Bravo as the all-rounder, again deputising for injured captain Chris Gayle, hoisted two sixes off spinner Justin Ontong before departing for his team's best effort of 24.

Pollock's dismissal of Rawl Lewis in the 15th over left the West Indies struggling at 79 for six, but Bravo, Darren Sammy and Jerome Taylor combined outrageous risk with bold hitting to add another 52 runs off the final five overs.

They were helped along the way by 29 extras, 14 of which were byes as the batsmen scrambled desperately to steal every available run in the way to posting a total that was expected to be competitive.

Taylor continued to enhance his reputation as a fast bowler, bowling Herschelle Gibbs for a duck with the third ball of the South African reply, and then disposing of Smith, who played on in the fast bowler's second over.

Fidel Edwards maintained the pressure at the other end, an Abraham de Villiers threatened to hit his team out of trouble, another of the resourceful players on this tour, Sammy, responded with a telling input.

Controlled pace

Sammy accounted for Jean-Paul Duminy, de Villiers, and Ontong in his four-over spell while conceding just 21 runs of controlled medium-pace.

It left the innings listing at 66 for five, and when Mark Boucher fell to a fine catch by Lewis at wide long-on off Marlon Samuels, West Indies were very much in the ascendancy.

The required run-rate climbed to almost 12 runs per over, as Ravi Rampaul kept the seventh-wicket pair on a tight rein in his first two overs.

Unable to bowl himself because of a side strain sustained during the second Test in Cape Town more than two weeks ago, Bravo tossed the ball in hope to Samuels for the penultimate over, only for Pollock to smash two huge sixes through the thin air of Johannesburg's 13,000-foot elevation on the way to plundering 18 runs off the slow bowler for the final twist of the match.