259/4 (18.5)
CR : 13.75
258/5 (20.0)
CR : 12.90
South Africa won by 6 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Quinton de Kock
100(44)
9:03 PM IST | Akshaya: If you haven't witnessed this insane ball striking, you would read it in the newspapers tomorrow morning when you wake up and might barely believe it.
Tell you what, this has been some run chase. A record-breaking one from the South Africans. They did it in the ODIs back in 2006, they have done it again and this time in the T20Is. No one would have given a chance for them when they came to chase 259! But South Africa overcame everything to snap the world record to chase the highest-ever T20I total with 7 balls and 6 wickets in hand to level the series at 1-1! Hands down this has been some batting display from both sides.
Tell you what, this has been some run chase. A record-breaking one from the South Africans. They did it in the ODIs back in 2006, they have done it again and this time in the T20Is. No one would have given a chance for them when they came to chase 259! But South Africa overcame everything to snap the world record to chase the highest-ever T20I total with 7 balls and 6 wickets in hand to level the series at 1-1! Hands down this has been some batting display from both sides.
Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks came out all guns blazing with the former on a mission. Right from all one, QDK made his intent clear. Both of the batters tonked boundary after boundary to push West Indies on the back foot. In a blink of an eye South Africa went past 100 runs well inside the powerplay and made a statement straightaway.
De Kock notched up the fastest fifty for a South African and continued his merry way to smash a brilliant century. He was dismissed exactly on 100 off 44 balls. Before getting out to Raymon Reifer in the 11th over, QDK added 152 runs for the opening wicket alongside Reeza Hendricks.
Rilee Rossouw came at number three and scored a small cameo of 16 from just 4 balls as he got out in the bowling of Odean Smith. Hendricks batted beautifully and hammered his 12th T20I fifty. Before falling prey to Rovman Powell, the right-hander scored 68 off just 28 balls. David Miller couldn't get his timing right and was out after scoring run-a-ball 10.
These wickets fell quickly and South Africa were 4 down to 216 in the 16th over. Then Aiden Markram (38* off 21) and Heinrich Klaasen (16* off 7) took the responsibility and finished off the job in the 19th over. The duo added an unbeaten partnership of 43 runs for the fifth wicket.
Seven bowlers were used by West Indies and each one of them got the beatings. Powell, Smith, Holder and Reifer were among the wickets.
De Kock notched up the fastest fifty for a South African and continued his merry way to smash a brilliant century. He was dismissed exactly on 100 off 44 balls. Before getting out to Raymon Reifer in the 11th over, QDK added 152 runs for the opening wicket alongside Reeza Hendricks.
Rilee Rossouw came at number three and scored a small cameo of 16 from just 4 balls as he got out in the bowling of Odean Smith. Hendricks batted beautifully and hammered his 12th T20I fifty. Before falling prey to Rovman Powell, the right-hander scored 68 off just 28 balls. David Miller couldn't get his timing right and was out after scoring run-a-ball 10.
These wickets fell quickly and South Africa were 4 down to 216 in the 16th over. Then Aiden Markram (38* off 21) and Heinrich Klaasen (16* off 7) took the responsibility and finished off the job in the 19th over. The duo added an unbeaten partnership of 43 runs for the fifth wicket.
Seven bowlers were used by West Indies and each one of them got the beatings. Powell, Smith, Holder and Reifer were among the wickets.
South Africa won the toss and invited West Indies to have a bat. Though the visitors lost Brandon King in the third ball of the innings delivered by Wayne Parnell, the intent wasn’t dented. Kyle Mayers and Johnson Charles hammered the bowlers to all parts of the ground, adding a mammoth 135 runs for the second wicket. Charles was the aggressor while Mayers followed suit after a few overs. West Indies scored 62 in the field restrictions and went into god mode after six overs.
Marco Jansen broke this stand in the 11th over by dismissing the dangerous Mayers, who clubbed 51 runs in just 27 balls and struck again with the wicket of Nicholas Pooran a few balls later. Charles continued his onslaught and amassed a record-breaking century in just 39 balls to become the fastest T20I centurion for a West Indian. Jansen took care of him in the 14th over who scored 118 runs off 46 balls, including 10 fours and 11 maximums. Before getting out, Charles added 40 runs for the 4th wicket alongside Rovman Powell (28 off 19).
Then Romario Shepherd joined hands with the Windies skipper and stitched 57 runs for the 5th wicket. Powell got out in the 19th over in trying to up the ante. Shepherd hammered an unbeaten 41 runs in just 18 balls with 1 four and 4 sixes. On the other side, Odean Smith finished things off with a maximum and remained unbeaten on 11 off 5 balls as they posted 258/5 in their allotted 20 overs, which is West Indies’ highest-ever T20I total. This was also the highest score for the team batting first at Centurion in a T20I.
For South Africa, all six bowlers went for runs, with Sisanda Magala being expensive going for 67 runs in his four overs. Marco Jansen was the successful bowler with three wickets to his name, while Wayne Parnell scalped a couple of wickets.
Marco Jansen broke this stand in the 11th over by dismissing the dangerous Mayers, who clubbed 51 runs in just 27 balls and struck again with the wicket of Nicholas Pooran a few balls later. Charles continued his onslaught and amassed a record-breaking century in just 39 balls to become the fastest T20I centurion for a West Indian. Jansen took care of him in the 14th over who scored 118 runs off 46 balls, including 10 fours and 11 maximums. Before getting out, Charles added 40 runs for the 4th wicket alongside Rovman Powell (28 off 19).
Then Romario Shepherd joined hands with the Windies skipper and stitched 57 runs for the 5th wicket. Powell got out in the 19th over in trying to up the ante. Shepherd hammered an unbeaten 41 runs in just 18 balls with 1 four and 4 sixes. On the other side, Odean Smith finished things off with a maximum and remained unbeaten on 11 off 5 balls as they posted 258/5 in their allotted 20 overs, which is West Indies’ highest-ever T20I total. This was also the highest score for the team batting first at Centurion in a T20I.
For South Africa, all six bowlers went for runs, with Sisanda Magala being expensive going for 67 runs in his four overs. Marco Jansen was the successful bowler with three wickets to his name, while Wayne Parnell scalped a couple of wickets.
Join us in a few minutes for the presentations!
9:18 PM IST | Time for post-match presentations...
Rovman Powell (West Indies Captain): "Yes sometimes put your body in the line. I will be fine. It was crazy. We thought it was enough. But credit to Quinton and the others and we failed with the bat. Johnson was great and he took the attack to the opposition. That's very good. The guys are in the right direction and just take the positive things out of it. I am used to it getting to 240+ and losing. Pace off the ball worked and me and Reifer did our job. Yes it's only going to get tougher and spicier for us. The fans will be entertained and we are looking forward to Joburg now."
Player of the Match: Quinton de Kock
Quinton de Kock: "Yeah, it was quite special. Reeza did what he does. It was nice to get to these milestones. All we had to do was choose the right options and hope for the best. Fast runs can be scored, especially when playing at Centurion. We knew the ball would travel quickly here. It's a long road out there. I've been looking for something like this for a long time. We don't play a lot of cricket at Centurion, so doing so at my home ground was very special. Once I knew I was getting them from the middle, I went with the shots. Reeza too said the same. It's about keeping it simple and playing according to the situation. We knew that the nature of the wicket helps batting. We knew that even if we go for a few runs with the ball, we can do it with the bat. And that is what exactly we achieved. Happy with the result."
Aiden Markram (South Africa Captain): "Yes very much so. Great game to be a part of. Two great knocks to see for us. We knew we were off the boil. The margin of error is nil and we have to improve our bowling. It happens. It was vibrant. We can chase it down and the guys believed we can chase it down. Credit to Quinny and the rest to get us the start. Reeza does it her own way and played great cricketing shots. I guess he showed his class. The coach is happy and we backed our options. The guys did their job. Yes, it's down to the last game and exciting game on Tuesday night and we have to see the conditions in Joburg. The crowds have been superb and a big thank you to them. We have had two good games of cricket."
Wow, just ending a day where the excess of 500 runs were scored in a T20I game, with the chasing side winning it with 7 balls remaining. It was some entertainment for the crowds and for the viewers. South Africa made history and have taken the series to the decider to be played at Johannesburg on Tuesday.
For now, this is me AkshayaKrishna Polya signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Ayan Chatterjee, who, alongside our scorer/analyst Yogesh Kumar brought you all the live-action of this mouth-watering feast. We will definitely meet again in the next match. But for now, let me catch my breathe and have my dinner, cheers!
For now, this is me AkshayaKrishna Polya signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Ayan Chatterjee, who, alongside our scorer/analyst Yogesh Kumar brought you all the live-action of this mouth-watering feast. We will definitely meet again in the next match. But for now, let me catch my breathe and have my dinner, cheers!