A match that rewrote history!!
A post from me after a long, long time!!! I was wondering all these days on what to write. Should I write abt the life here in Pune? Should I write about the TV we bought here? Should I write about my trip to Chennai last week? Lots and lots of confusion... And finally when I saw the match between the mighty Australians and the talented South Africans yesterday, I decided this should be my post!!!
What a match it was!!! I am elated to witness a match, which many of my friends in Chennai would not have watched due to Conditional Access System (CAS) over there. A total of 872 runs being scored in a single match!!!! What more can a crowd of 32,000 people sitting at the Wanderers expect? The same crowd witnessed the last world cup finals where Indians were not able to chase a total of 359 posed by the Aussies.
We were watching Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting’s merciless batting. He scored a massive 164 of 105 balls, which included 13 fours and 9 sixes. He surpassed his own previous best (7 sixes) for the number of sixes he smashed. The immediate comment from my friends and me was that South Africa would succumb to the pressure mounted on them.
The Australians were cruising with a massive score. They had already scored 361 by the end of the 44th over. There was this bowler named Roger Telemachus who was asked to bowl the 48th over of the Aussie innings. The ‘good’ bowler bowled four consecutive no balls, one of which was hit for a six, one for a boundary. He conceded 15 runs of the four no balls. At the end of the over he had conceded 28 runs, which was as if rubbing a deep wound with the hot chilly powder!!! The Aussies posed South Africans a target of incredible 435 to win.
The South Africans batting started as a laughing stock with a blow to them as Dippenaar got out of a superb delivery from Bracken. ‘Will the South Africans at least put up a total of 300?’ was our thought. In came Gibbs. Together with his skipper, he hit the ball to all corners of the ground. Ponting was trying all strategies to stop him but in vain. The score was already 190 for the loss of just one wicket at the end of the 22nd over. Unfortunately Smith gave a regulation catch to Hussey and got out. But this did not stop Gibbs from his merciless charge. At the end of the 30th over the score read 279 for the loss of just 2 wickets.
From then on, wickets were falling down regularly but the score was shooting up too. Gibbs got out after scoring a mammoth 175 runs that came from 111 balls. Boucher stood up in one end when his teammates came in and went out on a regular basis.
From a point in the game where 35 runs were required from 20 deliveries, South Africans made a tremendous come back by closing in on the required runs to 13 from 12 balls. Brett Lee had seven runs to defend in the last over of the innings, and South Africa had two wickets in hand. Hall hit a four and got out in the next delivery smearing the ball into the safe hands of Clarke. This resulted to a situation where 2 runs were required in 3 balls with just one wicket to spare. Will Ntini save South Africa from losing this great one-dayer?
We were sitting with fingers crossed. For us, its not that Australians should lose the match. The only concern we had was South Africa, after showing such a great spirit, should win the match as it would be the prize for the effort they had put in.
Never in the last 10 overs did any one of us moved from our places as we thought it might prove to be a bad luck for the SAFs (Silly, isn’t it?). We were watching this game as if India is playing against Pakistan!!
Ntini was lucky enough to deflect Lee’s best effort to the third man and run for a single, which tied the scores. It was left to the lone man, Boucher who was standing out there in the middle for a long time crying to his men to stay with him. The next ball saw Boucher seal the deal by hitting a four over the mid-on.
Our joy knew no bounds. We were jumping, shouting, and hugging each other. The next thing we all did was to call up our parents and friends there in Chennai to tell them the unbelievable news.
The world champions would never have had thought that after breaking a world record that stood for ten years, the record would again be broken within another three hours. This loss also meant that they have lost a bilateral series since June’02. Click here to see the score card.
I am not sure whether I could see such a breathtaking match again in my lifetime. But I am sure that each and everyone watching the match would have gone home only after pinching himself to remind what they witnessed is neither a dream nor a drama.
A salute to the great effort by the mighty South Africans!!!
What a match it was!!! I am elated to witness a match, which many of my friends in Chennai would not have watched due to Conditional Access System (CAS) over there. A total of 872 runs being scored in a single match!!!! What more can a crowd of 32,000 people sitting at the Wanderers expect? The same crowd witnessed the last world cup finals where Indians were not able to chase a total of 359 posed by the Aussies.
We were watching Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting’s merciless batting. He scored a massive 164 of 105 balls, which included 13 fours and 9 sixes. He surpassed his own previous best (7 sixes) for the number of sixes he smashed. The immediate comment from my friends and me was that South Africa would succumb to the pressure mounted on them.
The Australians were cruising with a massive score. They had already scored 361 by the end of the 44th over. There was this bowler named Roger Telemachus who was asked to bowl the 48th over of the Aussie innings. The ‘good’ bowler bowled four consecutive no balls, one of which was hit for a six, one for a boundary. He conceded 15 runs of the four no balls. At the end of the over he had conceded 28 runs, which was as if rubbing a deep wound with the hot chilly powder!!! The Aussies posed South Africans a target of incredible 435 to win.
The South Africans batting started as a laughing stock with a blow to them as Dippenaar got out of a superb delivery from Bracken. ‘Will the South Africans at least put up a total of 300?’ was our thought. In came Gibbs. Together with his skipper, he hit the ball to all corners of the ground. Ponting was trying all strategies to stop him but in vain. The score was already 190 for the loss of just one wicket at the end of the 22nd over. Unfortunately Smith gave a regulation catch to Hussey and got out. But this did not stop Gibbs from his merciless charge. At the end of the 30th over the score read 279 for the loss of just 2 wickets.
From then on, wickets were falling down regularly but the score was shooting up too. Gibbs got out after scoring a mammoth 175 runs that came from 111 balls. Boucher stood up in one end when his teammates came in and went out on a regular basis.
From a point in the game where 35 runs were required from 20 deliveries, South Africans made a tremendous come back by closing in on the required runs to 13 from 12 balls. Brett Lee had seven runs to defend in the last over of the innings, and South Africa had two wickets in hand. Hall hit a four and got out in the next delivery smearing the ball into the safe hands of Clarke. This resulted to a situation where 2 runs were required in 3 balls with just one wicket to spare. Will Ntini save South Africa from losing this great one-dayer?
We were sitting with fingers crossed. For us, its not that Australians should lose the match. The only concern we had was South Africa, after showing such a great spirit, should win the match as it would be the prize for the effort they had put in.
Never in the last 10 overs did any one of us moved from our places as we thought it might prove to be a bad luck for the SAFs (Silly, isn’t it?). We were watching this game as if India is playing against Pakistan!!
Ntini was lucky enough to deflect Lee’s best effort to the third man and run for a single, which tied the scores. It was left to the lone man, Boucher who was standing out there in the middle for a long time crying to his men to stay with him. The next ball saw Boucher seal the deal by hitting a four over the mid-on.
Our joy knew no bounds. We were jumping, shouting, and hugging each other. The next thing we all did was to call up our parents and friends there in Chennai to tell them the unbelievable news.
The world champions would never have had thought that after breaking a world record that stood for ten years, the record would again be broken within another three hours. This loss also meant that they have lost a bilateral series since June’02. Click here to see the score card.
I am not sure whether I could see such a breathtaking match again in my lifetime. But I am sure that each and everyone watching the match would have gone home only after pinching himself to remind what they witnessed is neither a dream nor a drama.
A salute to the great effort by the mighty South Africans!!!
posted by Vijay at 2:01 PM
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