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Australia Vs
South Africa at the Colonial Stadium,
Melbourne |
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DATE : 18-08-2000
VENUE : Colonial Stadium, Melbourne
MATCH : South Africa in Australia 2000, 2nd ODI
Writer : Karthik Narayan
Welcome to yet another edition of our exclusive
coverage of tied Tests and ODIs. Today we shall
revisit a great day in the millennium year 2000,
a match featuring the best 2 teams of the game.
These two teams had been in a tied match earlier
in the 1999 world cup, and boy, wasn’t that a
nail biter???
This ODI we are talking about was in the midst
of a crisis faced by cricket – the ugly side of
match fixing had been on the front pages, with
players being named with every pasing day. The
Hansie Cronje affair had thrown South African
cricket and world cricket into a daze. This
series, dubbed the Friendship Series, was more
for a bestowal of pride for the Proteas.
The name of the game was
tarnished, and South Africa had to go about
things in the most professional way. This was
also the first series that cricket was played in
an indoor stadium – the Colonial Stadium at
Melbourne. So it was a historic series by all
means. For South Africa, Shaun Pollock took upon
his first stint as skipper.
The Toss: Steve Waugh and Shaun Pollock
walked out for the toss, which was won by South
Africa. Having lost the first ODI, South Africa
had everything at stake to go level in the
series with a win in this match. They promptly
elected to bat, having lost the previous match
with an appalling chase of a huge total.
The South African Innings: Andrew Hall
and Gary Kirsten walked out to bat for South
Africa. McGrath was as stingy as ever, and so
was Gillespie with his sharp jagging deliveries.
But it was all rounder Ian Harvey, first change
bowler who struck the first blow, with the
wicket of Kirsten at 43 (13th over).
Soon after, Hall got out after getting a good
start at 37 to his name. Thereafter, runs came
slowly and wickets tumbled like nine pins at
regular intervals. With the team score at 95/4
in the 26th over, Jonty Rhodes and
Mark Boucher had to pull up their socks and
conjure up a good partnership, which they did.
As ever, the mercurial Rhodes was inspiring with
his typical-animated-innings, a very neatly
crafted half century at a run a ball. Boucher
gave him great company with a classy half
century himself, the two putting up 87 vital
runs for the 5th wicket. Then it was
time again for the Aussies to take over! After
reviving the innings, Rhodes fell at 182/5 in
the 40th over, just as he looked good
to up the scoring rate. Boucher followed right
after completing his half century in the company
of Lance Klusener.
Gillespie took care of Klusener and Shaun
Pollock in the same over and made sure South
Africa did not finish with a sizeable total. The
final scoreboard read 226/8 in 50 overs. Rhodes
top scored with 54, Gillespie got 3 wickets and
all Aussie bowlers except Shane Warne got
wickets each.
The Australian Chase: The classy Mark
Waugh and the all-aggressive Adam Gilchrist
strode their way into the closed stadium packed
to its hilt. This being a day/night game, the
crowds poured in to see their home team bat.
Australia seemed to be coasting, making full use
of the fielding restrictions. They went over the
required rate of 4.54 per over at the start of
their chase. 78 runs came by the 18th
over, and Gilchrist who was middling the ball
well, got out caught to skipper Shaun Pollock
off Kallis. Mark Waugh was joined by the
Tasmanian devil Ricky Ponting. But the Junior
Waugh did not capitalize on his good start, and
missed out on a deserving half century, getting
out at 48.
Hearts pound and minds flutter under pressure,
and both teams felt the heat at this juncture of
the match. For South Africa, stemming the run
flow and making breakthroughs was necessary.
Luckily for them, with the score at 177, Zulu
clean bowled Andrew Symonds to get the Proteas
back into the game. Game on, overs were going
past Australia and they were slipping.
Only those with the Steel Grit and Cool Head
thrive under pressure. Steve Waugh knew much
more than anybody else about this. With Harvey
failing to keep him company, Australia had been
going deciduous. Pollock himself was bowling the
48th and 50th overs and so
he would end his quota with the ultimate over.
But he had to make quick decisions on who was
going to bowl the 47th and 49th
overs for South Africa. These were to be the
most important few overs of the match itself.
The main bowlers had finished their quota and
Terbrugge and Kallis had gone for runs. And out
of nowhere, Pollock gave the ball to the gloved
man of the South African team – Andrew Hall
Australia were 213/6 in the 48th over
with 14 runs required of the last 2 overs. With
all self assurance and some innocuous seamers,
Hall bowled his first ball to Bevan. The first
ball was firmly driven, but no run was possible.
The next ball, Hall sent down a fullish delivery
outside the off stump. Out came a blooming drive
and an edge to the keeper meant Bevan had to go.
The noose was tightened for the rest of the
over, the next 3 balls to Warne fetched a paltry
single. Steve Waugh faced the last ball of that
over and that great Gladiator missed a big slog
only to see his leg stump carting along. Hall
had bowled out of his skin! He had bowled two
overs for just 3 runs with 2 very important
wickets! That was exactly what the doctor
ordered for South Africa.
13 required off the last over bowled by Pollock.
The race was still on, with Warne and Gillespie
at the crease. No matter what, the Aussies
always come hard at things! The first ball was a
fullish delivery, and Warne dispatched it with
the finest of ease with a super cover drive.
This game was getting hot for everybody, the
players at the ground, all those in the dressing
room and over 35000 spectators, not to forget
the millions watching in their homes! A single
was scored of the very next ball. The very next
ball, Pollock erred in line, bowled it onto the
pads of Gillespie, which much to the horror of
every South African on the field, became four
leg byes! Common sense failed to prevail on the
part of the two batsmen, when Warne called
Gillespie for an invisible run, Gillespie was
left short of his crease. So it was 223/9 with 4
runs required of the last 2 balls. Warne managed
to chop the penultimate ball with a precarious
edge down to third man. Even as the ball was
thrown back, Warne and McGrath run like
scrambled rabbits for two vital runs.
Now all down to the last ball and two required
off it. The sweat bursting on everyone’s brows
and the adrenaline pumping on everyone’s hearts.
In that tense, murky nighttime, Pollock started
his run up for the last time in this match. All
eyes watched Warne take his stance. The ball
turned out to be as straight as an arrow, right
in the slot. Warne managed to drive it as
straight as it came, the ball hitting the stumps
at the other end and ricocheting. The two
batsmen ran only a single before the throw was
made back from mid on.
Mark this date in history, for South Africa, a
new star was born on the cricket field, a
stranger to this game watched by millions with
passion and awe – 18th August 2000.
And that cricketer was Andrew Hall. He was
chosen as Man of the Match for his ONE OVER
MAGIC! A matter of six balls turned the match on
its head, completely transforming all that was
done before the space of those six balls, which
were hurled down by a cricketer known less for
his Jack in the Box tactics to play the jukebox
of International cricket.
South Africa had pulled back the game to force a
magnificent TIE in the end! This was one of the
best ever ties seen in ODI cricket and this
shall surely rank amongst the top TIED matches
of all time!
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