MUMBAI: A brilliant and unbeaten knock of 53 runs by legendary cricketer Jonty Rhodes - also one of the best fielders in the history of Cricket - guided South Africa Legends defeated West Indies by six wickets in the ongoing Road Safety World Series at the DY Patil Sports Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday (March 11, 2020.)
Chasing the target of 144, South Africa Legends got off to a bad start as the side found itself at 42/4 after 8.4 overs. Jonty Rhodes and Albie Morkel then joined each other in the middle and the duo retrieved the innings for the Proteas.
Rhodes and Morkel smashed boundaries at regular intervals and both batsmen formed an unbeaten 104-run stand for their side. Their partnership took South Africa over the line by six wickets with nine balls to spare. Rhodes remained not out on 53 off 40 balls, while Morkel played an unbeaten knock of 54 from 30 deliveries.
For the West Indies Legends, Carl Hooper picked up three wickets, while Adam Sanford and Samuel Badree grabbed two scalps each.
Earlier, Paul Harris' three-wicket haul helped South Africa Legends to restrict West Indies Legends to 143/8 in their allotted twenty overs.
Put in to bat first after losing the toss, West Indies got off to a steady start as openers Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Darren Ganga added 48 runs for the first wicket. However, things changed after Paul Harris was brought into the bowling attack. Spinner Harris, maintaining a good line and length, changed the fortunes for South Africa and the side started chipping away at the wickets.
Harris got the set batsman Ganga (31), followed by the big fish Brian Lara (4) as the Windies were reduced to 66-3 in 10.3 overs. Ricardo Powell and Danza Hyatt then added a vital 36-run stand to take the team’s score post 100. After being reduced to 106/6 in the 15th over, West Indies got resistance in Carl Hooper and Tino Best, and as a result, the side went past the 140-run mark. While legend Hooper remained unbeaten for 23 off 18 balls as he took his side to 143, Harris was the most successful bowler for South Africa, claiming three wickets followed by Garnett Kruger.
South Africa Legends: Jonty Rhodes (Captain), Herschelle Gibbs, Garnett Kruger, Jacques Rudolph, Andrew Hall, Albie Morkel, Johann van der Wath, Lance Klusener, Martin Van Jaarsveld, Morne van Wyk, Paul Harris, Roger Telemachus, Ryan McLaren.
West Indies Legends: Brian Lara (Captain), Adam Sanford, Carl Hooper, Daren Ganga, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ricardo Powell, Ridley Jacobs, Samuel Badree, Suleiman Benn, Tino Best, Dinanath Ramnarine, Pedro Collins, Danza Hyatt
Brief Scores:
South Africa Legends defeat West Indies Legends by six wickets
South Africa Legends - 146/4 (Jonty Rhodes 53*, Albie Morkel 54*, Adam Sanford 1-29)
West Indies Legends - 143/8 (Shivnarine Chanderpaul 31, Ricardo Powell 30, Paul Harris 3-21)
