If there were a cricketing equivalent of Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal, or say, Real Madrid vs. Barcelona it would probably be the rivalry between Australia and South Africa. The two teams have never ceased to amaze us on the cricket field. There have been a countless number of nail-biting encounters between these two sides which have gone right down to the wire.
Australia dominated the rivalry towards the late 1990s and early 2000s but despite that, the matches played out between these two mighty sides have been nothing short of a roller coaster ride.
Out of the 86 matches played out between Australia and South Africa, there have been 3 ties, which just goes to show how closely contested their matches have been over the years. Out of the remaining 83, Australia led the head to head by a small margin of 44-39.
As the two sides get ready to square off in a 5 match ODI series starting this Friday, we take a walk down memory lane as we reminisce the top 5 ODI matches played out between them.
#5 Zimbabwe Triangular Series, 2nd Match: Australia v South Africa at Harare, Aug 27, 2014
Coming into the second match of the triangular series between Zimbabwe, Australia, and South Africa in Zimbabwe, the Aussies were looking to make it two wins in two after demolishing the hosts in the first match by a whopping 198 runs. They were up against a formidable South African side in the 2nd ODI led by AB De Villiers.
Australia got off to a solid start, led by the openers Aaron Finch and the late Philip Hughes. After Hughes’s dismissal, Finch carried the attack forward for the Aussies as he scored a magnificent ton off 116 balls. George Bailey, who was the captain of the team back then, and current captain Steve Smith took the attack to the South African bowlers during the middle overs. A late surge by tailender Mitchell Johnson led to the Proteas reaching a high total of 327 in their allotted 50 overs.
With the commencement of the 2nd innings, South Africa got off to a great start thanks to the opening pair of Hashim Amla and Quinton De Kock who put on 44 for the opening wicket. They were not able to capitalise as they both perished soon after the 50 run mark. With AB De Villiers and Faf Du Plessis out at the crease, South Africa turned the match on its head as the duo went on to score brilliant centuries and put up a record-breaking partnership of 206 runs for the 3rd wicket. Both De Villiers and Du Plessis played their innings with a combination of calmness and well-timed aggression.
Despite cramping up after reaching his 90s, De Villiers did not back down as he continued to take on the Australian bowlers with ease. After Du Plessis’s departure, De Villiers and JP Duminy closed the curtains on the Kangaroos as they comfortably won the match with 3.2 overs remaining and with 7 wickets to spare.
The triangular series between Zimbabwe, Australia, and South Africa was one to forget for the Kangaroos. They lost 2 out of their 4 matches including a surprise loss against home side Zimbabwe in the 4th game of the series. They still managed to reach the final but were nowhere near South Africa’s standards as the Proteas won the final by 6 wickets.
South Africa 328 for 3 (de Villiers 136*, du Plessis 106) beat Australia 327 for 7 (Finch 102, Bailey 66, Hughes 51) by seven wickets
#4 Australia tour of South Africa, 6th ODI: South Africa v Australia at Port Elizabeth, Apr 6, 2002
In what turned out to be an incredibly one-sided series, Australia did not seem to put a foot wrong as they won 4 out of the first 5 matches played between the two sides. Coming into the 6th ODI, South Africa were looking to salvage some pride and defeat the mighty Australians.
After opting to bat first, South Africa went on to post a massive total of 326 with the loss of only 3 wickets. All their 5 batsmen, namely Graeme Smith, Herschelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje, Jacques Kallis and Jonty Rhodes provided useful contributions with the bat. After a composed 103 ball 84 by Smith, Kallis and Rhodes provided the final surge as they smashed the Australian bowlers all around the park. The duo put up a partnership of 131 runs in just 92 balls.
Australia had an improbable target of 330 to chase down in 50 overs. Back in 2002, chasing down a target of 300 plus was considered the equivalent of chasing down, say a 380 plus score in today’s cricketing world. Australia were to break the record of the highest run chase ever back then if they were to chase down the total posed by the Proteas.
As the 2nd innings began, Adam Gilchrist made a stern statement as he smashed the very first ball off Shaun Pollock for a huge six. There was no turning back for the Kangaroos since then as they chased down the target with 5 balls to spare, and with 3 wickets remaining. After Gilchrist’s quickfire half-century, the innings was orchestrated by a 183 run stand between Ricky Ponting and Darren Lehmann.
Result: Australia 330 for 7 (Ponting 92, Lehmann 91, Gilchrist 52) beat South Africa 326 for 3 (Smith 84, Kallis 80*) by 3 wickets
#3 South Africa tour of Australia, 2nd ODI: Australia v South Africa at Melbourne (Docklands), Aug 18, 2000
Just a year after the heartbreaking semifinal loss to South Africa at the World Cup in England in 1999, the two teams played out another enthralling tie where Australia were at the receiving end as they were not able to get 17 runs in the final 3 overs with 4 wickets in hand. Andre Hall turned out to be the hero for the Proteas with his excellent display of bowling at the death.
South Africa won the toss and chose to bat first. Australia’s bowlers were right on the mark, taking wickets at regular intervals and not allowing the batsmen to settle. The Proteas were in a spot of bother at 95-4 when Mark Boucher and Jonty Rhodes rescued the innings. After Rhodes’s dismissal, it went downhill for South Africa as they could only manage a low total of 226 in their allotted overs.
Australia got off to a great start as their top 3 batsmen provided healthy contributions with the bat. They were reeling at 150-3 at one stage, with Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds at the crease. Things started to look a bit gloomy after Ponting’s wicket as they needed 65 runs at a run a ball. Steve Waugh got them back on track with a useful 30 run knock. It all went haywire for them when Andre Hall was introduced in the 47th over of the match.
Waugh was not able to take them over the line as he was dismissed in the penultimate over of the match by Hall. With 13 needed in the last over, and one wicket in hand, South Africa should have had this in the bag. Alas, it was not to be. The ghosts of the 1999 World Cup came back to haunt them as Warne managed to take Australia to the line, but not across it. It was the 3rd tie played out between the two sides. And the second one in two years.
Result: Australia 226 for 9 (M Waugh 48, Ponting 39) tied South Africa 226 for 8 (Rhodes 54, Boucher 51)
#2 ICC World Cup, 2nd SF: Australia v South Africa at Birmingham, Jun 17, 1999
Ask a South African fan about this game, and to date, he or she would put their head down and wonder how Lance Klusener and Alan Donald did not manage to grab the victory.
This particular match is one of the main reasons for the tag of “chokers” being attached to South Africa. Whereas for Australia, they were lucky even to be in the semifinals of the ICC World Cup in 1999. The two sides met in the super six stage, where Australia managed to beat South Africa, thanks to Herschelle Gibbs dropping a catch which would have led to Steve Waugh’s dismissal. Instead, Waugh went on to score a match-winning knock of 120 to take the Aussies to the semifinal, and that too, with a superior net run rate as compared to the Proteas.
The two sides met in the 2nd semifinal as well, and the stakes were obviously much higher. After opting to bowl first, South Africa had restricted the Australians to a lowly 213. The Kangaroos had no answer to the impressive bowling display by Shaun Pollock and Alan Donald who took a combined total of 9 wickets. Michael Bevan and Steve Waugh were the saving grace for Australians, scoring 65 and 56 respectively.
With 214 to win, South Africa got off to a good start with a 48 run opening partnership between Herschelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith. After the dismissal of Gibbs, they began to crumble and were in grave trouble at 65-4. However, Jacques Kallis and Jonty Rhodes’s partnership of 84 runs got them back into the game. Shaun Pollock and Mark Boucher provided useful contributions as well but were both dismissed in the penultimate over, thus leading to a final over showdown. Lance Klusener and Alan Donald were at the crease, with the former on strike to face Damien Fleming’s bowling. With 9 needed off 6, Klusener showed his class as he smashed the first two balls of the over for a four.
1 run. 3 balls. 1 wicket in hand. That was what South Africa required to reach their first ever World Cup final.
Heartbreaking would be a gross understatement to describe as to what happened in the next ball. A mix up between Donald and Klusener took place as Klusener called for a run, Donald did not listen, and before they knew it, both of them were at the non-striker's end.
"There it is, this will be out surely - oh it's out, it's gonna be run out...oh, that is South Africa out - Donald did not run, I cannot believe it. Australia go into the World Cup Final - ridiculous running with two balls to go. Donald did not go; Klusener came - what a disappointing end for South Africa. What a match for our viewers right around the world,” Bill Lawry’s commentary resonated amongst every single person watching the game on T.V.
The match was a tie, and Australia were through to the final based on their superior net run rate in the Super Six stage.
This particular match changed the course of cricket journey for the nations involved. Australia embarked on a streak of successive World Cup victories spanning across a decade and South Africa never got the better of a knockout game in World Cups to come.
Australia 213 (SR Waugh 56, Bevan 65) tied South Africa 213 (Kallis 53, Rhodes 43)
Australia went through to the final due to superior net run rate in the Super Six stage.
#1 Australia tour of South Africa, 5th ODI: South Africa v Australia at Johannesburg, Mar 12, 2006
In a vote by the International Cricket Council (ICC) a couple of years ago, this particular match between Australia and South Africa was voted as the best ODI ever in the history of cricket.
7 years after the heartbreak of 1999, South African fans could say that they had got their revenge in this thriller of a match. A total of 872 runs were scored in this game, making it the highest match aggregate in ODIs, going past the previous highest of 693, made by India and Pakistan at Karachi in 2004.
In the final ODI of the 5 match series between the two sides in 2006, Australia were looking to secure an incredible comeback and win the series 3-2, after initially being 2-0 down.
After winning the toss, Australia got off to a great start thanks to a quickfire 55 by Adam Gilchrist. Ricky Ponting produced the innings of his life. He went on a rampage as he pummelled the South African bowlers all around the park in his magnificent innings of 163 runs off just 105 balls, which included nine humongous sixes. Mike Hussey was in no mood to slow things down as he scored 81 runs off just 51 balls. In the end, Australia managed a mighty total of 434 runs which turned out to be the highest score ever in an ODI.
Australia must have thought that their record would not be touched for many years to come, but South Africa had other ideas in mind. Despite losing a wicket in the very first over, Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs showed no signs of slacking off as they punished the Australian bowlers. Australia had no clue what had struck them. Smith departed after an incredible knock of 90 runs which came off just 55 balls.
If Graeme Smith was fiery, Gibbs was flawless. He continued to take the attack to the bowlers as he hurtled to 150 not out from just 100 balls, and brought up the landmark with his fifth six of the innings, and the 21st of the match. He bettered Ponting’s innings as he scored a stupendous knock of 175 runs off 111 balls. When he was dismissed, South Africa required 136 runs in a little less than 19 overs.
Useful contributions by Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher led to South Africa nearing the target of 434, but Australia kept sneaking back in by taking wickets at regular intervals.
In the end, it all came down to the final over, just as it had done at Edgbaston all those years ago. Brett Lee had seven runs to defend, and South Africa had two wickets in hand. Andre Hall smashed the second ball of the over for a four, and South Africa just needed 2 runs off 3 balls. The ghosts of 1999 came back to haunt Hall as he scooped the next ball to mid-on. The Australians rejoiced. It was a heart in mouth moment as Hall walked off and Makhaya Ntini came to take guard.
Australia seemed confident of causing another upset against their formidable rivals, but Ntini was up to the task as he calmly took a single off the fourth ball. With 1 needed off 2 balls, Boucher kept his nerve and took the Proteas to an unforgettable victory by smashing the penultimate ball for a four, causing an eruption at The Wanderers.
Australia’s record had lasted just for a few hours, as South Africa banished the ghosts of 1999 and provided fans around the world with an adventure of a lifetime.
South Africa 438 for 9 (Gibbs 175, Smith 90, Boucher 50*) beat Australia 434 for 4 (Ponting 164, Hussey 81, Katich 79) by one wicket
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