Jack Jones

On March 12, 2006 where Greatest ODI Ever was played, South Africa and Australia played their fifth One Day International cricket match, popularly known as the 438 Match or 438 Game, at Johannesburg’s New Wanderers Stadium. The first and second team innings scores of more than 400 runs were among the other cricket records that were broken throughout the match. Australia chose to bat first after winning the toss. They broke the previous record of 398–5 set by Sri Lanka against Kenya in 1996, scoring 434 for 4 off their 50 overs. South Africa won by one wicket with one ball remaining after scoring 438–9 in response. Many have hailed the match as the best One Day International ever played.

Background

Since the 1999 Cricket World Cup semi-final, when South Africa could only draw with Australia in a match they had to win to go to the final, there has been a fierce rivalry between Australia and South Africa in One-Day Internationals. That was regarded by some cricket fans as the best game ever played. When South Africa visited Australia earlier in the 2005–06 season, they lost three of their four games against Australia and were unable to advance to the final of the three-team one-day series. Additionally, they lost all three Test series 2-0. The fact that the Australians were calling them “chokers” was another thing that constantly irritated the South Africans.

In South Africa, this game was the last of a five-match series. This was the decisive match when Australia rallied to win the next two after South Africa won the first two with ease. Due to Glenn McGrath’s wife’s sickness, Australia was forced to play the series without their finest one-day bowler. Shaun Pollock, the South African team’s finest one-day bowler, was also out for the last game because of a back strain.

The Match

• Australia won the toss and chose to bat.
• Australia scored the first ever team total over 400 in men’s cricket in ODIs.
• Australia scored the highest ever team total in ODIs (434); surpassing Sri Lanka’s total of 398 in 1996; before South Africa surpassed it in the same match (438). [Later Surpassed]
• South Africa chasing 434 was the highest successful ODI chase of all time and the highest team total in the second innings in ODIs.
• This match recorded the highest aggregate runs in a match: (872), surpassing the previous record of 693 set by India and Pakistan in 2004.
• This match recorded the most sixes hit in a match in ODIs (26) and the most fours hit in a match in ODIs (89). [Later Surpassed]
• Ricky Ponting (AUS) scored the fastest 150 in ODIs, reaching this target in 99 balls. [Later Surpassed]
• Mick Lewis (AUS) conceded the most runs in an innings in ODIs (113). He also became the first bowler to concede 100 runs in a fifty-over ODI match. [Later Surpassed]

Description

After winning the toss, Australian captain Ricky Ponting decided to bat. Simon Katich and Adam Gilchrist both scored 50 to get the team off to a strong start. In the 16th over, with the partnership at 97, Andrew Hall made a challenging catch by diving to his left and removing Gilchrist. After that, Ponting reached his greatest score at the Wanderers ground with 164 from 105 balls, which included nine sixes and thirteen fours, and his quickest century with 100 off 73 balls.

After Ponting and Katich combined for 119 runs for the second wicket, Roger Telemachus caught Katich off Makhaya Ntini at third man. Michael Hussey made 81 after being moved up the order. In the 47th over, Ponting was out when Boeta Dippenaar grabbed his drive shot. Telemachus started the 48th over with four straight no-balls, putting pressure on South Africa by the end of the innings.

Australia became the first team to ever score 400 runs in a One Day International after scoring 53 runs off its final three overs . Andrew Symonds and Brett Lee helped the team surpass the world record with 27 and 9 runs, respectively.

South Africa went out batting, giving it their best, needing 8.7 runs per over from the beginning when the series was tied at two all. Jacques Kallis had introduced himself in a somber dressing room after the interval by saying, “Come on, guys: it’s a 450-wicket match.” They’re only fifteen.” The highest first innings score at the time was Sri Lanka’s 398 against Kenya; this chase had never been attempted before.

The previous greatest second innings score was 344/8, which Pakistan achieved against India in Karachi on March 13, 2004 (India won the match by a margin of just five runs). Boeta Dippenaar’s early loss for one made the South African run chase appear more challenging. Herschelle Gibbs broke the South African mark for the fastest century, which had previously been set off 84 balls against Zimbabwe, by reaching his 16th ODI hundred in 79 balls while batting at number three. With 175 off 111 balls, Gibbs achieved the second-highest total ever by a South African.

He brought the South Africans back into the game with a partnership of 187 runs with Graeme Smith. Gibbs and AB de Villiers formed another solid partnership after Smith went out for 90. Following Gibbs’ dismissal, Australia maintained pressure with frequent wickets and powerful hitting from Johannes van der Wath. The Proteas remained in the chase thanks to Mark Boucher.

In contrast to the rest of the game, Nathan Bracken bowled exceptionally effectively, taking five wickets while maintaining a reasonable economy of 6.7. With Boucher on strike, South Africa needed seven runs off six balls by the end of the match. Andrew Hall hit a four after he pushed a single, leaving two needed off four balls. He left the team at 433–9, though, after being found trying to duplicate the shot.

The scores were tied when Ntini, the number 11 batsman, got Brett Lee, the bowler, out for a single to third man. Then, to complete South Africa’s triumph, Boucher smashed a four off the following ball, earning his 19th fifty in ODI cricket.