Gibbs and Kallis lift South Africa to big win
By Sahid Hashmi
World Cup : BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, March 16 - Herschelle Gibbs became
the first man to hit six sixes in an over in a one-day international
while Jacques Kallis smashed an unbeaten century as South Africa
inflicted a 221-run World Cup defeat on the Netherlands here on Friday.
Gibbs hit a robust 40-ball 72 coupled with Kallis's unbeaten 128 as
South Africa's batsmen pulverised hapless Dutch bowling to muster 353-3
in a Group A match reduced to 40-over-a-side.
Ryan ten Doeschate then hit a fighting 57 as the Netherlands managed
132-9 in their 40 overs.
Doeschate shared a 42-run sixth wicket stand with Tim de Leede who
made 21, in an otherwise dismal batting show by the Dutch.
Mark Boucher joined the run-feast with a rapid-fire 31-ball, unbeaten
75 which included nine boundaries and four sixes.
He also hit the fastest half-century in a World Cup match beating
West Indian Brian Lara's 23-ball feat against Canada at Centurion in
2003 by two deliveries.
But it was Gibbs who grabbed the headlines.
He launched into Dutch right-arm leg-break bowler Daan van Bunge in
the 30th over, hitting him for five straight sixes and one to deep
mid-wicket at the Warner Park ground.
"It's up there with the best things I've done," said Gibbs.
Kallis hit eleven boundaries and five sixes during his unbeaten
109-ball knock and added 115 runs for the third wicket with Gibbs off
just 71 balls.
South Africa hit 18 sixes in all beating Pakistan's record of most
sixes in a one-day innings of 14 hit against Sri Lanka at Nairobi in
1996-97. The 33-year-old Gibbs followed West Indian great Sir Gary
Sobers and India's Ravi Shastri who both hit six sixes in an over but
they came in first class cricket.
Sobers was the first to reach the landmark playing for
Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan at Swansea in 1968 with Malcolm Nash
the bowler taking the punishment. Former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri
then equalled the feat playing for Bombay against Baroda in 1984.
Gibbs, playing his 199th match, finally holed out to van Bunge at
long-on off Dutch captain Luuk van Troost in the 31st over much to the
sigh of relief of some 500 orange-clad Dutch fans among a disappointing
crowd of 3000.
He hit seven sixes and four boundaries during his entertaining
innings. Kallis, who watched Gibbs' onslaught at the other end, reached
his 15th one-day hundred off 97 balls studded with ten boundaries and
two sixes.
South African skipper Graeme Smith hit a 59-ball 67 with six
boundaries and a six after his team had lost opener AB de Villiers,
caught behind off the second ball of the innings to paceman Billy
Stelling.
The historic feat will also cost a leading drinks firm one million
dollars. The Johnnie Walker company had already agreed to donate the
money to charity in honour of the first player to register the landmark.
Gibbs also erased Sanath Jayasuriya's record of most runs in a
one-day over which stood at 30 - achieved twice against Pakistan's Aamir
Sohail in Singapore in 1996 and New Zealander Chris Harris at Sharjah
five years later.
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