The West Indies have grabbed a place in the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 following a dramatic three-wicket victory over South Africa in Nagpur.

The Windies won the toss and opted to put South Africa into bat, and it proved to be a good decision as Hashim Amla was run out in just the third ball of the innings.

The second wicket came nine deliveries later when Andre Russell sent Faf du Plessis off the field on just nine runs, and the third shortly followed as Chris Gayle dismissed Rilee Rossouw for a duck.

Despite the wickets tumbling around him, Quinton de Kock was able to keep the attack ticking as he hit 47 runs off 46 balls before he was bowled out by Russell.

The opener's knock was the highest score of the innings as the Proteas, who have recorded one win and a defeat so far, finished on 122-8 after 20 overs.

In reply, the West Indies were dealt an early blow when Gayle was bowled out by Kagiso Rabada in the fifth ball of the innings, with the big-hitter recording just four runs.

The Windies were 34-2 after five overs, but Johnson Charles and Marlon Samuels steadied the attack and had a 32-run partnership before the former was taken out by David Wiese on 32.

Dwayne Bravo could only contribute eight runs and it was a tense finish as his team required 24 runs from as many balls with six wickets remaining.

The West Indies looked comfortable until Imran Tahir swung the momentum in South Africa's direction by claiming two wickets in two balls - Russell (4) and Darren Sammy for a duck.

Chris Morris took a big wicket in the form of Samuels, who hit 44 off as many balls, and the Windies eventually needed nine runs from the final over.

Carlos Brathwaite smashed a vital six to help his team snatch a place in the semi-finals, which will also include England if they manage to beat Sri Lanka on Saturday.