By IANS
Johannesburg : Herschelle Gibbs’ unbeaten 90 overshadowed West Indian Chris Gayle’s century and took South Africa to an eight-wicket win in the opening match of the first Twenty20 World Championship here Tuesday.
Gibbs’ faced just 55 balls and hammered 14 boundaries and two sixes to take his side to victory with 14 balls to spare in a thrilling encounter at a packed New Wanderers Stadium.
Left-hander Gayle earlier became the first batsman to score a century (117, 57 balls, 7x4s, 10x6s) in the shortest version of cricket and helped the West Indies to 205 for six wickets in 20 overs after they lost the toss and were asked to bat.
Gibbs led South Africa’s reply with a hard-hitting yet calculated knock. He and Justin Kemp’s unbeaten 46 (22 balls, 5x4s, 1x6s) helped the team to 208 for two in 17.4 overs under bright floodlights.
Although many top stars are missing from the tournament for a variety of reasons, the atmosphere Tuesday night was electric at the stadium with fans from almost all 12 participating countries making their presence felt by waving their flags.
If Gayle made history by becoming the first man to score a ton in this slam-bang version of the game, it was Gibbs who enthralled the delirious crowds with some brilliant shots all round the wicket.
Gibbs and captain Graeme Smith opened the chase with a 54-run stand, scoring at 10.12 runs/over.
The South African reply, however, had begun with drama. Pacer Daren Powell’s first ball of the innings was a sharp bouncer and left-handed Smith simply failed to read it. The ball hit his fingers inside the gloves and he needed medical attention for several minutes.
Smith, however, resumed his innings and went on to score 28 off 21 balls, hitting four boundaries and one six. After getting out he was immediately rushed to a hospital for x-ray on his fingers.
Then, Gibbs and A.B. de Villiers (16) added 34 for the second wicket, scoring at 12 runs/over.
Gibbs and Kemp put the issue beyond doubt with their calculated stroke play. They put on 120 unbeaten runs for the third wicket and scored the runs at a breathtaking 12.63 runs per over.
The West Indies bowlers bowled a poor line and length and conceded a whopping 23 wide balls, which played a crucial role in their defeat. The fielders also contributed by not being agile and dropped some difficult catches near the boundary line.
Earlier, Gayle and Devon Smith (35, 34 balls, 3x4s) gave the West Indies a flying start with their 145-run partnership for the opening wicket.
Gayle took charge right from the word go, smashing a boundary off the very first ball bowled by veteran pacer Shaun Pollock. This shot gave ample indication as to which of the two batsmen was in form.
Gayle connected almost all 57 balls he faced in his blitzkrieg knock. If the left-hander was severe on the on side, he was equally destructive on the off side.
Gayle and Smith scored their runs for the first wicket off 13.3 overs at an amazing strike rate of 10.74.
Smith, who played the supporting role to perfection, was eventually caught by wicket-keeper Mark Boucher off Pollock when he tried to square cut.
But the West Indies received another setback when after the addition of seven runs Marlon Samuels also went back to the pavilion.
Gayle and Chanderpaul then added 26 runs off just two overs for the third wicket before the left-hander was finally out. Gayle tried a shot across the line and top edged the ball to wicket-keeper Mark Boucher.
With Gayle’s departure the fireworks ended and the West Indies finished at a healthy total, though they failed to better the highest ever Twenty20 total of 221 for five by Australia against England in January.
Smith used seven bowlers, including himself, and all were hammered to all parts of the ground.
Johan van der Wath and Vernon Philander took two wickets apiece, though they cost them a lot.
SCOREBOARD
South Africa vs. West Indies, Twenty20 World Championship, Johannesburg
West Indies:
Chris Gayle c Boucher b van der Wath 117
Devon Smith c Boucher b Philander 35
Marlon Samuels c de Villiers b Pollock 6
Shivnarine Chanderpaul c Boucher b van der Wath 11
Dwayne Smith c Gibbs b Morkel 1
Ramnaresh Sarwan c de Villiers b Philander 12
Denesh Ramdin not out 6
Dwayne Bravo not out 0
Extras: (leg byes 4, wides 12, no ball 1) 17
Total: (for 6 wickets in 20 overs) 205
Fall of wickets: 1-145 (D.S. Smith, 13.3 overs), 2-152 (Samuels, 14.2), 3-178 (Gayle, 16.2), 4-182 (D.R. Smith, 17.3), 5-188 (Chanderpaul, 18.2), 6-204 (Sarwan, 19.5)
Bowling:
Shaun Pollock 4 0 52 1 (4w)
Makhaya Ntini 2 0 19 0
Johan van der Wath 4 0 33 2
Morne Morkel 4 0 30 1 (1nb, 1w)
Vernon Philander 4 0 35 2 (1w)
Albie Morkel 1 0 16 0 (2w)
Graeme Smith 1 0 16 0
South Africa:
Graeme Smith c Gayle b Rampaul 28
Herschelle Gibbs not out 90
A.B. de Villiers c Ramdin b Edwards 16
Justin Kemp not out 46
Extras: (lb 4, w 23, nb 1) 28
Total: (for two wickets in 17.4 overs) 208
Fall of wickets: 1-54 (Smith, 5.2 overs), 2-88 (de Villiers, 8.1)
Bowling:
Daren Powell 4 0 34 0 (4w)
Ravi Rampaul 4 0 52 1 (1nb, 1w)
Dwayne Smith 2 0 37 0 (5w)
Fidel Edwards 3 0 21 1 (4w)
Dwayne Bravo 2.4 0 39 0 (2w)
Marlon Samuels 2 0 21 0
Result: South Africa won by eight wickets
Man of the Match: Chris Gayle (West Indies)
Umpires: Mark Benson (England) and Daryl Harper (Australia)
TV umpire: Nigel Llong (England)
Match referee: Chris Broad (England)