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Gilchrist, Ponting guide Australia to thrilling win
PORT ELIZABETH: Although skipper Ricky Ponting and Darren Lehmann failed to reach their respective hundreds, the two helped Australia earn a thrilling victory against South Africa by three wickets in sixth One-day International match of the seven-match series here at St. George's Park, Port Elizabeth.
Set 327 runs to win the match, the tourists achieved the highest total by a team batting second mainly because of their top-order batsmen. They were off to a flying start which saw openers Adam Gilchrist (52 runs off 34 balls) and Matthew Hayden (35 runs off 29 balls) score 81 runs off 8.4 overs. But the loss of both the openers and pinch-hitter Ian Harvey (4 runs off 6 balls) in quick succession brought the hosts back into the match. Shaun Pollock and his men fielded and bowled well after the initial beating from the Aussies and the tourists were made to play slowly for sometime. It took some brilliant batting from Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting and Darren Lehmann which broke the back of the hostile bowling from the hosts and took the visitors to safety. The two added 183 runs in their 29.2-over stay but missed their hundreds by eight and nine runs respectively. The hosts managed to dismiss both Ponting (92 runs off 107 balls) and Lehmann (91 runs off 94 balls) in the 42nd and 47th over but after their departure, Michael Bevan saw the tourists home by staying at the wicket and snatching a three-wicket win from the jaws of defeat. It was Shane Warne who hit the winning runs on the first ball of the last over and helped Australia maintain their impressive record in South Africa.
Earlier, Jonty Rhodes, Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis celebrated South Africa's return to form with half centuries which helped the home team post 326 runs for the loss of three wickets. After winning the toss, Shaun Pollock opted to bat first and his batsmen, who played brilliantly throughout the innings, proved that he made the right decision. Not only did Smith score his maiden half-century in ODIs, Kallis and Rhodes also played their part well. Rhodes' fifty was his 30th in limited overs and his fourth consecutive in the series while Kallis not only scored his 36th fifty in one-dayers, he also managed to cross the 1000 run-mark against Australia in the shorter version of the game.
The two added 131 runs off 93 balls for the unbeaten fourth wicket partnership. Rhodes remained not out on 71, which came off 50 balls while Kallis' unbeaten 80 runs came off 59 balls. They scored 102 runs in the last 10 overs and during their stay, rarely did a ball went untouched. All the Australian bowlers were expensive with Glenn McGrath (0/52), Jason Gillespie (0/60), Ian Harvey (1/64), Shane Warne (1/58), Shane Watson (0/47) and Darren Lehmann (1/40) all going for a lot of runs. Adam Gilchrist was declared Man of the Match for his brilliant batting as he reached his fifty off just 27 balls which made an Australian victory possible.
The last match of the series, which would be a day/night affair, would be played at Cape Town on Tuesday.
April 06, 2002 - 1505 GMT
Match evenly poised after Ponting-Lehmann partnership
PORT ELIZABETH: The sixth One-day International match of the seven-match series between Australia and South Africa was evenly poised after Australia staged a remarkable comeback in the match here at St. George's Park, Port Elizabeth.
Chasing 327 runs to win the match, the tourists were off to a fiery start which saw openers Adam Gilchrist (52 runs off 34 balls) and Matthew Hayden (35 runs off 29 balls) score 80 odd runs in quick time. But the loss of both the openers and pinch-hitter Ian Harvey (4 runs off 6 balls) in quick succession brought the hosts back into the match. Shaun Pollock and his men fielded and bowled well after the initial beating from the Aussies and the tourists were made to play slowly for sometime. But Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting and Darren Lehmann broke the back of the hostile bowling from the hosts and took the visitors to safety with sensible batting which saw them add 134 runs in their stay by the 35th over.
At the conclusion of the 35 overs, Australia have scored 243 runs for the loss of three wickets. They still require 84 more runs in 15 more overs at an asking rate of 5.60 runs per over to win the match but with Ponting (67 not out off 77 balls) and Lehmann (68 not out off 71 balls) still batting well and in sight of their respective hundreds, the target seems achievable. The Proteas, on the other hand, would have to stop them from reaching the mammoth total if they wish to earn their first win of the series.
April 06, 2002 - 1305 GMT
Aussies strike back as Gilchrist blasts SA
PORT ELIZABETH: Adam Gilchrist blasted a half-century off just 27 balls as Australia struck back with explosive batting from the openers here at St. George's Park, Port Elizabeth in the sixth One-day International of the seven-match series against South Africa.
Chasing 327 runs to win the match, the tourists started off well and collected runs at will by hitting the ball to all parts of the ground. The placid pitch of St. George's Park would prove to be ideal for Adam Gilchrist who likes to dominate and score runs all over the place. His opening partner Matthew Hayden also likes to stay at the top and if they stay at the wicket for a couple of more overs, they would make the required run rate achievable by scoring most of the runs quickly.
At the conclusion of the first 8 overs, Australia have scored 79 runs for the loss of no wicket. They still require 248 runs in 42 more overs at an asking rate of 5.90 runs per over to win the match but with Gilchrist (52 not out off 32 balls) and Hayden (24 not out off 19 balls) still batting well, the target seems reachable. On the other hand, the Proteas would have to stop them from reaching the mammoth total if they wish to earn their first win of the series.
April 06, 2002 - 1140 GMT
Brilliant batting helps SA post huge total
PORT ELIZABETH: Jonty Rhodes, Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis celebrated South Africa's return to form with half centuries which helped the hosts post 326 runs for the loss of three wickets - the highest total at St. George's Park - in the sixth One-day International of the seven-match series against Australia.
After winning the toss, Shaun Pollock opted to bat first and his batsmen, who played brilliantly throughout the innings, proved that he made the right decision. Not only did Smith score his maiden half-century in ODIs, Kallis and Rhodes also played their part well. Rhodes' fifty was his 30th in limited overs and his fourth consecutive in the series while Kallis not only scored his 36th fifty in one-dayers, he also managed to cross the 1000 run-mark against Australia in the shorter version of the game.
For South Africa, Smith and Herschelle Gibbs started the proceedings and after adding 74 runs off 80 balls, the latter was caught and bowled by Harvey for 37 runs off 40 balls. Nicky Boje was once again promoted in the order and this time he batted excellently and scored 47 runs off 48 balls. He was bowled by Lehmann in the 30th over while five overs later, Smith followed him after scoring 84 runs off 103 balls. He was caught by Lehmann off Warne and after his departure, Rhodes and Kallis began the assault which tore the Australian bowling attack apart.
The two added 131 runs off 93 balls for the unbeaten fourth wicket partnership. Rhodes remained not out on 71, which came off 50 balls while Kallis' unbeaten 80 runs came off 59 balls. They scored 102 runs in the last 10 overs and during their stay, rarely did a ball went unnoticed. All the Australian bowlers were expensive with Glenn McGrath (0/52), Jason Gillespie (0/60), Ian Harvey (1/64), Shane Warne (1/58), Shane Watson (0/47) and Darren Lehmann (1/40) all going for a lot of runs.
Australia now require 327 runs in 50 overs at an asking rate of 6.54 runs per over to win the match while the hosts would have to stop them from reaching the mammoth total.
April 06, 2002 - 1040 GMT
Smith guides SA towards imposing total
PORT ELIZABETH: South African opening batsman Graeme Smith (73 not out off 94 balls) guided South Africa towards an imposing total here at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth against Australia in the sixth One-day International of the seven-match series.
Smith, who scored 74 runs in the first 13 overs along with opening partner Herschelle Gibbs (37 off 40 balls), struck six fours during his stay and was aided by hard-hitting from Nicky Boje who scored 47 runs off 48 balls and was dismissed in the 30th over.
At the conclusion of the 33rd over, the hosts had scored 175 runs for the loss of two wickets. Smith was batting at 73 not out while Jacques Kallis had scored 13 runs off 16 balls. The Proteas would be hoping to set an enormous target in the range of 280-300 for the Aussies and earn their first win of the series.
April 06, 2002 - 1013 GMT
SA off to ideal start
PORT ELIZABETH: South African opening batsmen Herschelle Gibbs (23 not out off 32 balls) and Graeme Smith (25 not out off 34 balls) helped their side off to a brilliant start after skipper Shaun Pollock won the toss and elected to bat first here at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth against Australia in the sixth One-day International of the seven-match series.
The hosts, who are trailing 4-0 in the series, scored their first run on the eleventh ball of the match but smashed the ball to all parts of the ground after settling in. They have, at the conclusion of the 10th over, had scored 51 runs for the loss of no wicket and would be hoping to set an enormous target in the range of 280-300 for the Aussies who have played brilliantly throughout the series.
April 06, 2002 - 0815 GMT
Pollock opts to bat first after winning toss
PORT ELIZABETH: South African skipper Shaun Pollock has elected to bat first winning the toss here at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth against Australia in the sixth One-day International of the seven-match series.
The hosts, who are trailing 4-0 in the series have brought in fast bowler Roger Telemachus in place of Nantie Hayward while Australia have rested pacer Brett Lee and batsman Jimmy Maher who have been replaced by Shane Watson & Darren Lehmann respectively.
Teams:
South Africa: Shaun Pollock (captain), Nicky Boje, Mark Boucher, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Neil McKenzie, Makhaya Ntini, Jonty Rhodes, Graeme Smith, Roger Telemachus, John Kent.
Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Michael Bevan, Shane Warne, Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Ian Harvey, Shane Watson, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath.
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