Chokers no more

South Africa have won the greatest one-day international in the history of the game.

Must have been a heck of a game. I followed it as much as I could on Cricinfo at the end stages. Even on text commentary it was exciting. The Proteas are considered as one of the biggest chokers in international cricket. Their inability to win big games is well known. I bet the dressing room during the break must have been shell shocked. They had led the hated Aussies 2-0 this time last week, and here they were facing a target unheard of before to avoid losing their home series at their bastion.

On a side note, it wouldn't have been rated the best game ever, had the S. Africans lost by a run. But, this one did beat the previous best / most exciting one dayer ever (1999 World Cup Semi Final, also between the same two teams). Makes me think that had it been the Africans in the final of the 2003 Cup, they would have made it a better game chasing 360 against the Aussies.

Also, they scored 872 runs in a day. That's stupendous. Beyond belief. To put it into perspective, there's a test match going on in Auckland between the West Indians and the Kiwis. 4 days gone, they have scored 1046 runs. The game at Mohali has scored 750 runs in a rain shortened match. They have scored more than most test matches score in 3 days. 15 on 10 for the effort that both teams put into the game. It got me thinking. I remember a time, when 250 in a one dayer was a safe score. 6 an over was considered unattainable. Teams would score 300 batting first and then coast since there was no way, the chasing team would get there. Now, who can say that 500 in a one dayer is not possible? It would take an immense effort, but they said the same about 400, and here two teams scored it in the matter of a few hours. I guess the battle of a team 400 against an individual 200 has been settled.

I could go on and on about this. It was even more fun following this game, since India was not involved in this, and I could follow it without any partisanship. I cheered for SA, but I would have cheered for the Aussies, had it been the opposite case. I think a few years from now, a few thousand Afrikaners will proudly tell their grandkids "I was there".