Cricket is a game of anomalies where anything can happen at any moment and can leave the crowd awestruck. Over the years, several unbelievable moments have happened on the cricket field and have left the entire cricketing fraternity in shock and making them grow fonder of this beautiful game at the same time. One of the most unbelievable games of cricket was played on March 12, 2006 between South Africa and Australia in Johannesburg.
It was the final match of the five-match ODI series tied 2-2 between the two giants of international cricket back then. Australian captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat first. The Aussie openers Adam Gilchrist and Simon Katich gave a good start to their side with a 97-run partnership in 15.2 overs.
Gilchrist went on to score 55 (44) while Katich scored 79 (90). The Australian innings got a move-on when Michael Hussey joined Ricky Ponting at the crease and the duo ripped apart the South African bowling attack. They were involved in a 158-run stand as Hussey scored 81 (51) while Ponting played a sensational knock of 164 (105).
Australia finished their innings on 434/4 – the highest ODI score at that time. The game looked finished at the halfway point as achieving such a steep cliff seemed impossible. However, Herschelle Gibbs had other plans as he walked to the crease determined to script a miracle chase.
South Africa lost their opener Boeta Dippenaar in the second over itself and it looked like the rest of the South African batting will fall in a similar manner. However, Gibbs and captain Graeme Smith stitched a 189-run stand for the second wicket in just 125 balls. Smith was dismissed after a well-made 90 off 55 balls which kept his team in the hunt.
At the other end, Gibbs continued his breathtaking innings and gave no respite to Australian bowlers who looked helpless in the middle. He was finally dismissed at the score of 299 (31.5) as he played a mind-boggling innings of 175 off just 111 balls.
South Africa required another 136 runs in 18.1 overs at a required rate of 7.55 with six wickets in hand. However, there was more twist in the tale as they lost star batter Jacques Kallis and Justin Kemp quickly and were 355/6 after 42.1 overs.
Mark Boucher came in to bat at number six and held one end as the tail batted around him. He got good support from Johan van der Wath who played a quick-fire innings of 35 off 18 balls. Another cameo by Roger Telemachus of 12 off 6 balls brought the equation down to 13 needed from the last two overs with three wickets in hand.
With 7 runs needed in the last over, Andrew Hall smacked a boundary on the second ball making the home crowd erupt with joy. However, there was more drama to follow as he got out the very next ball with South Africa requiring two runs from the last three balls with just one wicket in hand.
The last batter MakhayaNtini gave the strike back to Boucher on the fourth ball of the over and the wicketkeeper-batter finished things off in style with a boundary on the penultimate ball of the match and took his team home. The boundary sent the entire crowd and the dressing room into a frenzy as the world witnessed one of the greatest ODI games ever played.
Boucher remained unbeaten on 50 off 43 balls while Australia’s Nathan Bracken claimed a fifer in the match dominated by batters. He finished with figures of 5/67 in 10 overs.
South Africa won the match by one wicket and one ball to spare and recorded the highest-ever chase in ODI history, a record which stands till date.
