5 greatest comebacks in international cricket

1. Blaze of Glory (Australia v/s SA, 5th ODI, Johannesburg, 2006)

Makhaya Ntini celebrates

A source of constant irritation for the Proteas was the Australians’ habit of calling them ‘chokers’. The 1999 World Cup semi-final fiasco was a slap in the face of the proud Springboks, and the Kangaroos’ apparent stranglehold on them was a bit too much to bear. They were just hoping and waiting for an opportunity to turn the tables.

It arrived on March 12, 2006 at Johannesburg’s ‘Bull Ring’, the New Wanderers Stadium. Both teams had gone into the game with the ODI series tied at 2-2, and both were without the services of their best bowlers – Shaun Pollock (SA) and Glenn McGrath (Aus).

The game turned into a slugfest after Ricky Ponting won the toss and chose to make first use of the wicket. Gilchrist and Katich scored fluent half-centuries, before Ponting unleashed his full repertoire of strokes, muscling his way to a magnificent century. With Mike Hussey’s rapid fifty and quick runs from Andrew Symonds and Brett Lee, Australia broke the 400-run barrier for the first time in ODI cricket, finishing with 434/4.

For reasons best known to him, SA all-rounder Jacques Kallis told his teammates that the Aussies were about 15 runs short – it was a 450-run wicket! Pollock would tell fellow fast bowler Makhaya Ntini that he would be there till the end.

Prophetic? It proved to be.

Early into the chase, South Africa lost Boeta Dippenaar for 1, but Herschelle Gibbs channelled every ounce of energy he could spare into crafting one of his finest performances till date. He shared strong partnerships with skipper Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers. Smith, in particular, responded with a furious innings: perhaps the indignity meted out to his side by his opposite number was the signal for him to go berserk.

However, Michael Clarke brought his side back into the contest by picking up the SA skipper’s wicket, and when both de Villiers and Gibbs fell, it looked like Australia would triumph once again.

Justin Kemp, known for his ability to hit the ball hard, followed Kallis to the pavilion, and the Proteas were now in a pressure-cooker situation. They needed runs, and they needed them fast.

The big-hitting finally came from all-rounder Johannes van der Wath, who had been taken to the cleaners earlier. With Mark Boucher for company, he went for his shots and added a quick 44 for the sixth wicket. Boucher then combined with Roger Telemachus to get his side closer to the target, and South Africa finally got it down to the last over with 7 runs needed, losing Telemachus in the process.

Ponting tossed the ball to Brett Lee for the final strike. His gamble of playing Mick Lewis backfired big-time as the bowler conceded 113 runs in his full quota; he would never play for Australia again

New man Andrew Hall scored a boundary off the second ball after Boucher stole a single off the first. He fell on the third, but Ntini managed to tie the scores with a single to third man.

That gave Boucher the strike to land the death blow – a classic boundary – thus completing his half century and pulling his side over the finish line. The Aussies were inconsolable, the South Africans elated. By far, the greatest ODI match of all time had ended in grand style!