One of the greatest ever ODIs to have been ever played is the semifinal of the 1999 World Cup between Australia and South Africa. This was not merely the match of the tournament: it must have been the best one-day international of the 1,483 played till then. And this match wasn’t about prolific run-scoring or a deadly spell of pace bowling, this match was as close and nervy a finish that a neutral could have hoped for.
The essence of the one-day game is a close finish, and this was by far the most significant to finish in the closest way of all – with both teams all out for the same score. But it was a compressed epic all the way through, and it ended in a savage twist. The turn of events, and the eventual result, earned the South Africans the unwanted tag of ‘chokers’ – something they had to live with until they plotted some sweet revenge on the Aussies in Johannesburg in 2006, gunning down a target beyond 400. The tie meant that South Africa, for the third World Cup in a row, failed to reach the final despite making all the right noises earlier in the competition. The crucial fact was that Australia finished higher than them in the Super Six table, and that was determined by the obscurity of net run-rate. Many spectators were left baffled. Cricket can be a harsh sport sometimes.
Klusener’s brawn had powered South Africa to the brink of the final but, when he got there, his brain short-circuited. Only he could have smashed and grabbed 31 runs off 14 balls, cutting a daunting target down to a doddle: one needed off four balls, Klusener himself on strike, and a decent, experienced tailender at the other end in Donald. Surely South Africa should have made it from there. However, they didn’t as suicidal running between the wickets cost them a place in the final. The bowler, Damien Fleming, had only one thing going for him: he had bowled the final over that beat West Indies in the 1996 World Cup semi-final. But Klusener had just smashed him for consecutive boundaries through the off-side and he knew he had to tighten up. Steve Waugh, knowing a tie would be enough, set a field that gave new meaning to the phrase ‘a ring saving one’. Klusener thumped the ball straight, and Donald, backing up too far, would have been run out if Lehmann had hit the stumps. Klusener then repeated the same mistake, as he charged down the other end after pushing the ball to mid-on. Donald grounded his bat, dropped it, and finally set off, while the Australians were demonstrating the benefits of a recent visit to a bowling alley: Mark Waugh, at mid-on, flicked the ball to Fleming, who rolled it to Gilchrist, who broke the wicket, and South African hearts.
Earlier on, Adam Gilchrist got off to a well composed 20, but failed to convert another start into a big knock. Shaun Pollock, finally finding the edge, was magnificently incisive. Alan Donald found his lengths, and managed to pick up four wickets in his ten overs. And after Ricky Ponting’s dismissal on 37, Steve Waugh and Bevan performed a repair job which showed first self-control, then controlled aggression. Kallis, carrying a stomach injury, bowled fast and tight, and held the batting together with a cool fifty.
Above all, there was Shane Warne. The ball that bowled Gibbs was a miraculous replay of his most famous delivery, to Mike Gatting six years earlier. His first spell of eight overs went for only 12 runs. He pocketed three more wickets, and the man of the match award. But for South Africans, to lose the match in that fashion, was a bitter blow, something that still continues to haunt them.