When South Africa Pulled Off The Highest Chase In T20 Cricket

If we would simply lay out the scorecard of the second T20i match played between South Africa and West Indies at Centurion. There is no way you would believe that it was a T20 match. Simply outrageous hitting from both sides, West Indies batted first and put 258 runs on board in a T20 match and yet that proved unsafe and easily chasable.

So the story goes back to March 26, 2023, an amazing day game at centurian. In the first T20I, South Africa had failed to defend 131 runs in 11 overs all due to the devestating power hitting by the West Indies batting order. The tone was set drom the first match.

Coming to the second match at Centurion, a high scoring encounter was definitely expected. Just before the match, Jonathan Charles had said that it was a 240 runs wicket. In a 20 over game the pitch doesn’t change much so both sides will have a crack at it.

Aiden Markam was handed over the role of captaincy after the departure of Temba Bavuma from leadership role after the team lost a World Cup T20 match to the Netherlands under his captaincy. On the other hand, West Indies had a similiar kind of story. Nicholas Pooran had given up the role of leadership after the Men in Maroon failed to qualify for Super 8 in the Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

The dynamics of both teams were quite similar. Both of the teams wanted to play a new brand of cricket which reflected their aggressiveness and willingness to win the match. Especially for South Africa who had a little lost the first T20I match, captain Markram was under pressure but his team carried a positive attitude.

The Blitz At Centurian by Jonathan Charles 

West Indies were playing with 8 proper batters, and South Africa with 7, it was clear what their strategy was going into this match. Batting first, West Indies lost wicket on the second ball of the game and it was Brandon King who had done good damage to South African bowlers in the previous match.

The next one to come was Jonathan Charles who was making a sort of comeback to the West Indies team after being left out of the team. It was Charles’ day. He smashed the fastest century by a West Indies’ cricketer, his ton came in 39 balls. He was just in punishment mode putting up a show of brutal hitting, the ball must have thought that no one in the history of cricket has hit it as hard as Jonathan Charles on that day.

West Indies were flying, Luftwaffe kind of show going on at Centurion. They had already reached 137 by the 10th over when Kyle Mayers fell for 27-balls-51, he was the dangerman but there was Charles who was hitting them like tracer bullets. A few wickets by Marco Janse slowed down things a bit but in the end, Romario Shepherd’s 18-balls-41 had help West Indies post a mammoth total of 258 runs on board.

Take It Easy, Said De Kock and Hendricks

In an ideal T20 game, the chasing side will think that it is and one sided game and all they can do is to lessen the margin of defeat. South Africa were equally in mood and from the second innings, they kept saying that it was chasable. Quinton de Kock came all guns blazing, determined to play a match winning and memorable Knock at Centurion.

Alongside De Kock was Reeza Hendricks who showed on that day that class can be as much as dominating and effective as brutal hitting in a high scoring encounter. South Africa scored or would be right way to put it, smashed 50 runs in first 2.4 overs.

By the end of 6th over, the opening pair had put 102 runs on board and De Kock had scored his career’s fastest T20 half century in 15 balls. In no time, the chasing of 259 began to look like a left hand job for South Africa and definitely it was a left hander who scored his first T20 career international century in 43 balls with 9 fours and 8 sixes coming from his bat.

When de Kock was dismissed in 11th over, South Africa had already crossed 150 runs mark. Soon after, Hendricks scored 50 in 23 balls and was dismissed by Rovman Powell on 28-balls-68. The match was one sided by that time, South Africa only required 66 runs in 44 balls and the remaining finishing job was done by Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen. South Africa won the decisive match with 7 balls to spare.