February 27, 2015
Brief Scorecard: South Africa 408 for 5 (De Villiers 162*, Amla 65, du Plessis 62, Rossouw 61, Holder 1-104) beat West Indies 151 (Holder 56, Tahir 5-45) by 257 runs
February 27, 2015
Brief Scorecard: South Africa 408 for 5 (De Villiers 162*, Amla 65, du Plessis 62, Rossouw 61, Holder 1-104) beat West Indies 151 (Holder 56, Tahir 5-45) by 257 runs
AB de Villiers hit 17 fours and eight sixes in his 66-ball 162, South Africa v West Indies, World Cup 2015, Group B, Sydney, February 27, 2015
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: West Indies came into this match on the back of Chris Gayle’s 215-run blitz against Zimbabwe. South Africa’s World Cup credentials had been questioned after India brushed them aside in Melbourne.
When the two met at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday (February 27), AB de Villiers stroked his way to the fastest 150 in ODI history as West Indies were crushed by 257 runs in an utterly one-sided contest. South Africa, with three other batsmen making half-centuries, powered their way to 408 for 5 before the bowlers skittled West Indies for just 151.
Imran Tahir, whose exuberant celebrations were as eye-catching as de Villiers’s 360-degree strokeplay, starred with 5 for 45 after Kyle Abbott, playing instead of the injured Vernon Philander, made the initial incisions. It was the biggest rout in World Cup history, equaling India’s 257-run win over Bermuda in 2007.
Five weeks after taking a 31-ball century at The Wanderers in Johannesburg, de Villiers once again haunted Jason Holder and his side, bludgeoning an unbeaten 66-ball 162. A 127-run partnership between Hashim Amla (65) and Faf du Plessis (62) gave South Africa the perfect platform, and Rilee Rossouw, who pounded out 61 in just 39 balls, and de Villiers then combined to add 134 in just 75 balls as West Indies fell apart after a reasonably tidy start with the ball. South Africa made 261 in the final 20 overs, with as many as 150 of those coming in the last ten.
De Villiers struck 17 fours and eight sixes in an awesome exhibition of power hitting. It didn’t matter whether the ball was full or short, on offstump or angled at his pads. Everything was just dismissed from his presence. The final over from Holder, where he struck four sixes and a four, summed up West Indies’ plight. Holder’s final two overs included six sixes and cost 64 runs. His final analysis of 1 for 104 was the most expensive ten-over spell in World Cups.
By the end, it was easy to forget that Holder had given his team the perfect start, after Quinton de Kock cut one uppishly to point. Amla lacked his trademark fluency, but he and du Plessis built steadily, finding the gaps on a large outfield. Amla struck only one four, but got to his half-century with a straight six off Darren Sammy. Du Plessis, who played a couple of gorgeous cover drives, scored at a quicker tempo, but both men fell within two balls of each other as Chris Gayle’s bowling gave West Indies a sliver of hope. Du Plessis edged one behind, and Amla was trapped in front as South Africa slipped to 146 for 3 in the 30th over.
After that, there was only pain for those in maroon. Rossouw drove and pulled with immense power, striking six fours and an astonishing upper-cut six over backward point. De Villiers watched the younger man seize the initiative and then announced himself with a flurry of strokes that left Holder with nowhere to turn. As ever, the de Villiers repertoire was vast – sixes over fine leg, square leg, midwicket (twice), long-on (twice) and extra cover, and fours all around the ground. The century stand between the two took just 60 balls, with every bowler apart from Gayle (2 for 21 from four overs) taking considerable punishment.
Rossouw edged one behind off Andre Russell, but there was no stopping de Villiers, whose 52-ball hundred was the fastest made in ODIs on Australian soil and the second quickest in World Cup history. Russell missed out a run-out chance off his own bowling when de Villiers had made 94, and there were a couple of half-chances spilled late on as bowlers and fielders alike lost focus in the midst of the boundary-hitting mayhem. As many as five of de Villiers’s 20 ODI centuries have come against West Indies and he now averages 76 against them while scoring at much faster than a run a ball. They simply had no idea how to stop him.
With the ball, it took South Africa just nine balls to stop the Gayle train in its tracks. An ambitious step away and swing at Abbott only saw the leg stump pegged back. Marlon Samuels, the other centurion against Zimbabwe, followed in Abbott’s next over, edging one to de Kock behind the stumps, leaving Dwayne Smith to make the early running.
Dale Steyn pats Jason Holder on the back for his 48-ball 56, South Africa v West Indies, World Cup 2015, Group B, Sydney, February 27, 2015
He and Jonathan Carter added 36 before five wickets tumbled for the addition of just 11 runs. Carter’s pull of Morne Morkel was brilliantly taken by de Villiers, diving to his left at midwicket, and David Miller, at long-on, then leapt like a salmon to snaffle Smith’s heave off Tahir’s bowling. Lendl Simmons inside-edged a flipper on to his pads, but left without reviewing the leg-before decision, and Darren Sammy was expertly stumped after he overbalanced.
Holder’s 48-ball 56 was a lone note of defiance, but this was South Africa’s evening, an occasion for de Villiers and his teammates to remind everyone that the two hosts and India aren’t the only contenders to take home the big prize.
Courtesy: Wisden India
