The Great Gamble
There was a time, not too long ago, when the mere mention of money was anathema in sports ~ professionals were allowed in Wimbledon for the first time in 1968, and in the Olympics only from 1988.
Heinrich Klaasen hammered a blazing unbeaten century as South Africa beat West Indies by four wickets in the third and final ODI to level the series on Tuesday.
Klassen scored an unbeaten 119 and Marco Jansen 43 as South Africa reached 264/6 in 29.3 overs in response to West Indies’s 260 all out in 48.2 overs.
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A stunning onslaught by Klaasen meant that South Africa took just 29.3 overs to chase down the target of 261, that West Indies had built on an even-ball 72 by Brandon King.
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Klaasen walked in at 73/3 and took off immediately, racing to 21 off just 12 balls. He completed his half-century off just 30 balls but sped up even further post that.
The hundred came off just 54 balls as South Africa, in a precarious situation after the dismissal of David Miller, raced to the target with Marco Jansen forging a useful stand with Klaasen.
The South African wicketkeeper remained unbeaten on 119 off just 61 balls as South Africa scaled the target in less than 30 overs, a rare record in ODIs.
No team had ever chased down a target of 250 or more in less than 30 overs before this.
The closest any side came to this feat was when India chased down a revised target of 255, also against West Indies, off 32.3 overs in Port of Spain in 2019.
Brief scores:
West Indies 260 all out in 48.2 overs (Brandon King 72, Jason Holder 36, Nicholas Pooran 39; Marco Jansen 2-46, Bjorn Fortuin 2-46) lost to South Africa 264/4 in 29.3 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 119 not out, Marco Jansen 43; Alzarri Joseph 3-50) by four wickets.
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