What A Match !!!

What A Match !!!

Yeah ! You can read that couple of times.
What A Match.

No prizes if you had guessed if this is about AUS Vs SA at Wanderers on 12th March 2006.

Total of 400 always seemed an unthinkable one in ODI cricket until SriLanka came closer and scored 398. Still many thought its gonna happen only after a long long time may be after a decade or so.

But none would have thought that 400+ will be scored not once but twice in a day.
That too the record 'team-total' being broken twice in a span of 5 hours.

It was just pouring runs at Wanderers.

Aussies scoring 434 in 50 overs and Proteas chasing that out by scoring 438 with a ball to spare and with one wicket in hand. Uhhffff... it was mentally so tiring to watch the match. Think about people who were there at the ground and think of those cricketers who were part of either of the teams.

Amazing Stuff !!!
It was records that kept breaking.
It was history that kept re-written.

Little history behind this 5th match of this ODI series.
SA being harrassed literally by racist comments when they toured Australia late last year. They were kind of thrashed in test series and gave a good fight of it in ODI but ended up on a losing cause. It was later revealed that there were consistent racist remarks on SA players when they were fielding.

There ends the tour of SA. In February Aussies arrive in SA for test and ODI series.
Mark Boucher, SA wicket keeper goes media asking SA people to give it back to Aussies when they take up the fields.SA skipper Smith supported this by keeping quiet.

Starts the first ODI with skipper Pontng and their best weapon in ODI Symonds being ruled out due to injuries.As expected Aussies lose the match.
Worst was to follow when in the next match Australia chasing near 300 target were tottering at 7-4. Yes you read that right. It was 7-4 and eventually they succumb to the worst ODI defeat in their history against SA losing it by nearly 200 runs.

SA goes into the 3rd match with a 2-0 lead and pushing for a win.
But there comes back the Aussie skipper Punter Ponting and takes control of the situation with a neat win in 3rd ODI and a pulled-off thriller in 4th ODI.

Series levelled at 2-2 and Ponting his reserved his best for the final on slaught.
He scored a murederous 164 to take his team to 434.
The same ground were INDIA were made to look like a elementary-attach team during the last world cup FINALS.
Ponting would have been smiling ear to ear during lunch break with 434 on the board.
Probably he would have thought this is the luckiest ground on earth for him.

But fate was different as, in comes Graeme Smith and along with Gibbs (one down) started taking the game away from Australia.
How many times we would come across the below stats while the team is chasing.
25 overs completed - 230 runs scored.
25 overs left - 205 runs required.

In the end it was records after records that was broken.
Apart from the fielders and Batsmen there were few other people who were very busy.
They were men who keeps track of the scoreboard in the ground.
And those who were called as 'STATSMEN' for keeping the statistics live and ticking.

Surely this is a match to remember as we are not sure how long this record will stay for it to be broken again or atleast threatened to be broken.

More than the result it was the way this match was played till the last ball.
We have to give it to all players in the both the teams for the show they put up.
I only pity the bowlers (Mick Lewis especially) being on-slaughted on this dead track.ODI cricket is entering into its next generation now.

I took out a leaf or two from both the leaders in PONTING and SMITH for leading a team when its a DO-OR-DIE. Hats off !!!
They showed what it takes to be a leader and to keep the team motivated when you are involved in a fighting battle like this.

My admiration for PONTING as a LEADER grows further after this match though he ended up on the losing side.(I personally prefered SA to win the match yday).
PONTING grew in his stature when he declined to accept the shared man-of-the-match award with Gibbs saying Gibbs' effort was for a winning cause and Gibbs deserved it more than him.That is PUNTER PONTING for you.
If somebody not convinced yet on what am saying, please look at the last two years records of Australia and PONTING'S contribution to it both as a player and as a captain.Yep. you can still include the ASHES of last summer.

There were many memorable moments through out the match and it would be great if you could watch the highlights of this match to have a glimpse of those.
This was a see-saw with twists every other over.

As i said if you had watched it live to the last ball it was so tiring mentally but you would have enjoyed every ball atleast in the second innings of the game.

ONE OF THE BEST DAYS FOR CRICKET.

Scorecard and full details - Courtesy cricinfo.