5.34 pm So Johnson Charles strikes a 39-ball century in the first innings and hardly anybody will remember it. Quinton De Kock makes his maiden T20I century in the chase as part of a blistering 152-run opening partnership in little more than 10 overs to make sure the home fans will leave Centurion with smiles across their faces. South Africa level the series 1-1.
West Indies captain Rovman Powell: "It was pretty pretty crazy. When we came off halfway, we thought we had enough. But credit to Quinton De Kock and Reeza Hendricks. They applied pressure from ball one. [On Johnson Charles] We told him to go hard from ball one and he did that today. The guys are going in the right direction. It's just to take the things we did well today and take it into the third T20I. This is the seventh game I've been on the T20 circuit that we scored 240 or 250 runs and we lost so I'm quite used to it now. The fast bowlers, it was not their day today so we tried to take pace off. It only get spicier and nicer for the fans. The fans have been good so it's good entertainment for them today."
Player of the Match is Quinton De Kock for his maiden T20I century: "[On the partnership with Reeza Hendricks] "It was quite special. He was the silent assassin. When I got out he said, 'We just did something really special and we should be proud of what we've done.' We just wanted to give our side a bit of hope and that's what we did. Playing at Centurion, we know we can get a lot of runs here. The ball travels here quite a bit. We knew we could catch up here and especially with the nature of the wicket. It was quite a road out there. [On making his first T20I century] It's quite special. I've been searching for it for quite awhile. We haven't played much T20Is here and when we do I seem to be given off so to be able to do it here was quite special."
South Africa captain Aiden Markram: "That was a great game to be a part of all in all. I think both teams can appreciate it. We witnessed two really good knocks today and I hope its remembered for their sake. We knew we were a little bit off the boil with the ball and the margin for error is tiny and it showed again today. Sometimes you just have to laugh it off. We still have a great bowling unit. To be honest it was a bit more vibey than I expected. Some of the guys said they were 15 short. The guys always believed that if a couple guys get in like Quinny and Reeza did, it was gonna come down close to the end so I think a lot of the credit has to go to the two of them getting us off to such a great start and making the rest of the chase a bit more comfortable. [on Reeza Hendricks] He does it his own way. We talk about playing an attacking brand of cricket, but he also showed that doesn't mean that you have to slog. Reeza once again proved today the type of player he is. He's all class and times the ball beautifully. It's great to be able to take a series down to the last game. Building up to World Cups and things like that, you want to play in must-win games so it'll be exciting come Tuesday night."
That'll do it for today's run fest at Centurion. Come join us again in a few days for the series finale. I'm Peter Della Penna. Take care!
The current record holder for the highest ever successful run chase in T20Is is... Bulgaria chasing down 246 against Serbia in 2022. For Full Members it is Australia chasing down 245 vs New Zealand in 2018.
END OF OVER:18 | 14 Runs | SA: 250/4 (9 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 13.88, RRR: 4.50)
- Aiden Markram36 (18b)
- Heinrich Klaasen11 (5b)
- Jason Holder4-0-48-1
- Raymon Reifer4-0-42-1
Karthik : "Not many years back commentators used to proudly announce 600 runs scored in one day. Now we have 500 scored in less than 40 overs. That's massive inflation." Blame bitcoin?
END OF OVER:17 | 18 Runs | SA: 236/4 (23 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 13.88, RRR: 7.66)
- Aiden Markram31 (15b)
- Heinrich Klaasen2 (2b)
- Raymon Reifer4-0-42-1
- Jason Holder3-0-34-1
END OF OVER:16 | 8 Runs 1 Wkt | SA: 218/4 (41 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 13.62, RRR: 10.25)
- Aiden Markram14 (10b)
- Heinrich Klaasen1 (1b)
- Jason Holder3-0-34-1
- Raymon Reifer3-0-24-1
Someone in the crowd shouts, "Unlucky Miller!" Definite, "Good job, good effort!" vibes from that NBA playoff meme.
DA Miller c Shepherd b Holder 10 (21m 10b 1x4 0x6) SR: 100.00