The third match of the ICL 20- 20 domestic tournament featured the Ahmedabad Rockets take on the formidable Delhi Giants at the ICL facility; Lahari Resorts Ground, Hyderabad. The rain interrupted match saw the application of the VJD (V Jayadevan) method for rain interruption. In the end Delhi Giants came out tops by 14runs. Giants’ all-rounder JP Yadav was declared man of the match for his attacking batting (22 runs off 21 balls; including 2 fours & a six) & disciplined bowling (0/17 in 4 overs) spell.
The Rockets won the toss and elected to bat on the freshly laid track. Left arm pacer Shalabh Srivastava (Delhi Giants), made full use of the helpful conditions sending back both the Rockets openers to the Ahmedabad dugout without troubling the scorers.
The Rockets were soon in further trouble when their batting mainstay S Sriram was foxed by the spin musketeer Ali Murtaza for 3. It was then left to the Rockets’ international stalwart Reetinder Singh Sodhi in company of Anshu Jain to resurrect the Rockets innings. Just when Sodhi’s stroke play was taking the game away from the Giants, the wily Murtaza struck again scalping Sodhi for a well made 43 (31 balls, including 7 fours & 1 six).
A handy 56 run partnership between Sanjeev Martin & Bhima Rao for the sixth wicket saw the Rockets set the Giants a target of 131 runs.
In reply the Giants got off to a confident start with both Bali & Mishra taking the total to 31 in the 4th over. Rockets struck back in the match through medium pacer Baburao Yadav, who scalped the prized wicket of Bali for 20.
Mishra did not last long (13runs) and was Baburao’s second victim of the match in the 6th over. It was then left to the experienced duo of JP Yadav & Abbas Ali to take forward the Giants chase. At the ends of the 11th over Giants, were comfortable placed at 78/2, with both Abbas & Yadav looking good at the crease.
It was at that point that the rain gods intervened, washing out the chances of any further play. The VJD method was applied to declare the Giants as winners by 14 runs.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Royal Bengal Tigers start with a win, upset Hyderabad Heroes in their opening tie.
The second game of the ICL 20-20 Domestic Tournament was played at the Lahari Resort, Hyderabad featuring the home team, Hyderabad Heroes, against a new look Royal Bengal Tigers. The Royal Bengal Tigers hit the right notes in their maiden game, recording a 42-run win. The Tigers put up a clinical performance with the bowlers backing the contribution of their middle order batsmen to fold the Heroes’ innings for 115 after setting a competitive 157.
Taking a cue from the first game that was played between Chennai Superstars and Mumbai Champs, the Hyderabad Heroes too, elected to field after winning the toss in order to extract some early juice. The Heroes’ got early breakthroughs dismissing opener Zaidi (6) and the highly talented Jhunjhunwala (1) inside the first five overs.
With two wickets down and the run-rate far below from being convincing, Bengal’s skipper Dasgupta and the experienced Rohan Gavaskar showed maturity as expected and steadily built a partnership. Deep Dasgupta departed in the ninth over for 20 and Gavaskar carried on with Rajiv Kumar (15) and SG Das (31). A late cameo by MS Diwakar helped Tigers cross 150. The right-hander changed the course quickly blasting 33 from just 18 balls with 1 four and three sixes before getting out on the penultimate ball to PK Reddy. The new ball bowlers for Hyderabad shared five wickets between them with Sahabuddin claiming 3-31 and Reddy taking 2-25.
The Hyderabad Heroes launched their chase well with both the openers getting good starts. However, Shahank Nag was the first one to depart off Eklak Ahmid’s bowling for 19. Ibrahim Khaleel than had a steady partnership with Ambati Rayudu before a run out by agile Jhunjhunwala brought an unexpected end to Rayudu’s (14) campaign. The picture started to look bleak as the Heroes kept losing wickets in quick succession. Unlike the Tigers, the home team’s middle order failed and six of their batsmen got out in single figures. PL Das picked two wickets in the final over to end Hyderabad Heroes’ campaign for 115. Eklak Amid bagged three wickets from four overs, while Ahmed and Das took two wickets apiece.
Taking a cue from the first game that was played between Chennai Superstars and Mumbai Champs, the Hyderabad Heroes too, elected to field after winning the toss in order to extract some early juice. The Heroes’ got early breakthroughs dismissing opener Zaidi (6) and the highly talented Jhunjhunwala (1) inside the first five overs.
With two wickets down and the run-rate far below from being convincing, Bengal’s skipper Dasgupta and the experienced Rohan Gavaskar showed maturity as expected and steadily built a partnership. Deep Dasgupta departed in the ninth over for 20 and Gavaskar carried on with Rajiv Kumar (15) and SG Das (31). A late cameo by MS Diwakar helped Tigers cross 150. The right-hander changed the course quickly blasting 33 from just 18 balls with 1 four and three sixes before getting out on the penultimate ball to PK Reddy. The new ball bowlers for Hyderabad shared five wickets between them with Sahabuddin claiming 3-31 and Reddy taking 2-25.
The Hyderabad Heroes launched their chase well with both the openers getting good starts. However, Shahank Nag was the first one to depart off Eklak Ahmid’s bowling for 19. Ibrahim Khaleel than had a steady partnership with Ambati Rayudu before a run out by agile Jhunjhunwala brought an unexpected end to Rayudu’s (14) campaign. The picture started to look bleak as the Heroes kept losing wickets in quick succession. Unlike the Tigers, the home team’s middle order failed and six of their batsmen got out in single figures. PL Das picked two wickets in the final over to end Hyderabad Heroes’ campaign for 115. Eklak Amid bagged three wickets from four overs, while Ahmed and Das took two wickets apiece.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Chennai Superstars start ICL season -2 campaign, with a win over Mumbai Champs
The first match of the of the ICL 20-20 domestic tournament was played in the picturesque setting of the Jain international residential school ground Bangalore and featured heavyweights Chennai Superstars taking on Mumbai Champs. In the end it was the Chennai side that came up triumphs by 18runs, largely helped by a sparkling half century from captain R Sathish (58 off 46 balls; including 9 fours) & four Mumbai scalps by T Kumaran (4/28).
The Champs won the toss and elected to field, looking to take advantage of the virgin track. The Superstars got off to a disastrous start and were left reeling at 2/3 at the end of the second over. It was left to captain Sathish & dashing south paw Hemang Badani to resurrect the Superstars’ innings. Helped largely by the 76 run partnership of the two experienced campaigners; Superstars folded their innings at 143 /7 in their allotted 20 overs.
In reply, the Mumbai Champs lost wickets at regular intervals, largely wrecked by some disciplined bowling from Kumaran & Vignesh. The only significant contributions for the Champs came from their left hand opener Dheeraj Jadhav (36 runs off 36 balls) & a lower middle order fight back from Khirid & Paul (43 run partnership for the seventh wicket). In the end the Champs fell short of the modest target by 18 runs.
The Champs won the toss and elected to field, looking to take advantage of the virgin track. The Superstars got off to a disastrous start and were left reeling at 2/3 at the end of the second over. It was left to captain Sathish & dashing south paw Hemang Badani to resurrect the Superstars’ innings. Helped largely by the 76 run partnership of the two experienced campaigners; Superstars folded their innings at 143 /7 in their allotted 20 overs.
In reply, the Mumbai Champs lost wickets at regular intervals, largely wrecked by some disciplined bowling from Kumaran & Vignesh. The only significant contributions for the Champs came from their left hand opener Dheeraj Jadhav (36 runs off 36 balls) & a lower middle order fight back from Khirid & Paul (43 run partnership for the seventh wicket). In the end the Champs fell short of the modest target by 18 runs.
Friday, September 12, 2008
India set up dream final
India beat Australia by 15 runs in a memorable floodlit match in Durban to take their place in the final of the ICC World Twenty20, against Pakistan.
The brilliant left-hander Yuvraj Singh hit 70 off just 30 balls as India won the toss and recovered spectacularly from a sluggish start to total 188-5.
Australia kept in touch through Matthew Hayden (62) and Andrew Symonds (43), despite Sree Santh's excellent 2-12.
But they crumbled when 30 were needed from the last three to end on 173-7.
India won the toss and had little hesitation in opting to bat first at a ground where they had played all but one of their previous matches.
But they were stifled initially, and had to make do with an unthreatening 41-2 after eight overs.
The momentum suddenly changed when Yuvraj, the hitter of six sixes in an over against England on Wednesday, pulled his second ball for another maximum.
He had missed the match against South Africa with a bout of tendinitis of the elbow, but looked in sensational form from the moment he deposited Stuart Clark into the crowd for the first of five sixes.
The dolly mixture bowling of Symonds was treated with thorough disdain by Yuvraj, and Robin Uthappa (34) who was accelerating smoothly after an awkward start.
One of Symonds' overs, the 11th, disappeared for 19 - and featured a six from Yuvraj that bounced about the roof of one of the tall stands at Kingsmead Park.
The 14th over, bowled by Mitchell Johnson, cost 21 as the two batsmen began to really embarrass the Aussies.
Reserve wicket-keeper Brad Haddin was forced to play without the gloves as Australia hunted for replacements to cover hamstring injuries to Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson.
And he flapped aimlessly at a chance at deep extra cover that would have ended Yuvraj's innings on 35.
Australia's sixth bowler, Michael Clarke, was the final man to suffer at the hands of Yuvraj, but also the one to claim his wicket when a big hit went straight to deep mid-wicket.
The big hits continued though, with the normally reliable Nathan Bracken being hit for sixes by Mahendra Dhoni (36) and Rohit Sharma in the 19th over.
Australia needed nine-and-a-half runs per over, and they started their innings with the right mixture of purpose and caution.
The fifth over, bowled by RP Singh, cost 17. But Santh, bowling quite beautifully, then made a horrible mess of Adam Gilchrist's stumps.
Back came Australia; Joginder Sharma's first over was caned for 18 as Hayden finally began to find his range.
Once Symonds also began to propel a few deliveries over the short Kingsmead boundaries, the game was nicely poised.
Virender Sehwag bowled one over, which was pummelled for 20, and Dhoni brought back his trump card, Santh.
The Kerala paceman did not let his skipper down, removing Hayden's off-stump.
Australia were still scoring the 10 runs an over they needed though, and keeping enough wickets in hand, until the crucial 18th over.
But Harbhajan Singh knocked back Symonds' off-stump in an over costing just three, while another tight over from RP Singh left 22 needed off the last.
Australia's remaining batsmen were suddenly rendered powerless and it was India, to the delight of thousands of their fans in the stadium, who emerged victorious.
The brilliant left-hander Yuvraj Singh hit 70 off just 30 balls as India won the toss and recovered spectacularly from a sluggish start to total 188-5.
Australia kept in touch through Matthew Hayden (62) and Andrew Symonds (43), despite Sree Santh's excellent 2-12.
But they crumbled when 30 were needed from the last three to end on 173-7.
India won the toss and had little hesitation in opting to bat first at a ground where they had played all but one of their previous matches.
But they were stifled initially, and had to make do with an unthreatening 41-2 after eight overs.
The momentum suddenly changed when Yuvraj, the hitter of six sixes in an over against England on Wednesday, pulled his second ball for another maximum.
He had missed the match against South Africa with a bout of tendinitis of the elbow, but looked in sensational form from the moment he deposited Stuart Clark into the crowd for the first of five sixes.
The dolly mixture bowling of Symonds was treated with thorough disdain by Yuvraj, and Robin Uthappa (34) who was accelerating smoothly after an awkward start.
One of Symonds' overs, the 11th, disappeared for 19 - and featured a six from Yuvraj that bounced about the roof of one of the tall stands at Kingsmead Park.
The 14th over, bowled by Mitchell Johnson, cost 21 as the two batsmen began to really embarrass the Aussies.
Reserve wicket-keeper Brad Haddin was forced to play without the gloves as Australia hunted for replacements to cover hamstring injuries to Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson.
And he flapped aimlessly at a chance at deep extra cover that would have ended Yuvraj's innings on 35.
Australia's sixth bowler, Michael Clarke, was the final man to suffer at the hands of Yuvraj, but also the one to claim his wicket when a big hit went straight to deep mid-wicket.
The big hits continued though, with the normally reliable Nathan Bracken being hit for sixes by Mahendra Dhoni (36) and Rohit Sharma in the 19th over.
Australia needed nine-and-a-half runs per over, and they started their innings with the right mixture of purpose and caution.
The fifth over, bowled by RP Singh, cost 17. But Santh, bowling quite beautifully, then made a horrible mess of Adam Gilchrist's stumps.
Back came Australia; Joginder Sharma's first over was caned for 18 as Hayden finally began to find his range.
Once Symonds also began to propel a few deliveries over the short Kingsmead boundaries, the game was nicely poised.
Virender Sehwag bowled one over, which was pummelled for 20, and Dhoni brought back his trump card, Santh.
The Kerala paceman did not let his skipper down, removing Hayden's off-stump.
Australia were still scoring the 10 runs an over they needed though, and keeping enough wickets in hand, until the crucial 18th over.
But Harbhajan Singh knocked back Symonds' off-stump in an over costing just three, while another tight over from RP Singh left 22 needed off the last.
Australia's remaining batsmen were suddenly rendered powerless and it was India, to the delight of thousands of their fans in the stadium, who emerged victorious.
Pakistan canter past New Zealand
Imran Nazir helped Pakistan book their place in the Twenty20 World Cup final after an easy six-wicket victory over New Zealand at Newlands in Cape Town.
The Kiwis, having won the toss and elected to bat, made a below-par 143 as they failed to live with an incisive Pakistan attack of whom Umar Gul was the pick with three wickets for 15 runs.
And they were given a lesson in Twenty20 batting as Pakistan strode past their target with Imran Nazir's 59 off 41 balls proving decisive.
New Zealand were as surprised as anyone to be in the semi-finals having been given passage to the last four by South Africa's shock capitulation against India.
Rain interrupted the New Zealand innings briefly with the Kiwis making steady if unremarkable progress.
But Pakistan made the breakthrough in the eighth over when Faward Alam claimed Lou Vincent's wicket with a brilliant return catch.
Vincent had made 28 off 28 balls and he was followed in by fellow opener Brendon McCullum who was 26 off 27 when he was trapped lbw by Shahid Afridi.
The momentum was with Pakistan as Scott Styris (18) and Peter Fulton (10) failed to impress before falling to Umar Gul to leave New Zealand 85 for three and struggling.
The next four wickets fell for 20 runs with Daniel Vettori's trip to the middle the most futile as he was run out before facing a ball having sacrificed himself following a shambolic mix-up with Ross Taylor.
Shane Bond was then run out on 126 after more confusion with Taylor.
And, although he swung freely in the final over as he hit Mohammad Asif four, six, four and finished his innings on 37, Taylor did not redeem himself.
Mohammad Hafeez hit Bond for four off the first ball of the reply as Pakistan started quickly, reaching 19 in two overs.
Hafeez brought up Pakistan's 50 in the sixth over, lifting a six back over Mark Gillespie's head.
But he was claimed lbw by Scott Styris two overs later, having made 32 and a total of 60 for the first wicket in partnership with Imran Nazir.
Nazir brought up his own half-century with a six off Jacob Oram and he made 59 before he was trapped lbw by Jeetan Patel with Pakistan on 104 for three.
New Zealand then looked like making a game of it when Younus Khan feathered a thin edge off Vettori and was caught by McCullum.
And, when Shahid Afridi (six) was caught by Fulton off Bond, Pakistan were suddenly vulnerable at 111 for four after 14 overs.
But Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq revived the Pakistan challenge and the captain hit the winning runs in the penultimate over with a majestic six off Patel.
The Kiwis, having won the toss and elected to bat, made a below-par 143 as they failed to live with an incisive Pakistan attack of whom Umar Gul was the pick with three wickets for 15 runs.
And they were given a lesson in Twenty20 batting as Pakistan strode past their target with Imran Nazir's 59 off 41 balls proving decisive.
New Zealand were as surprised as anyone to be in the semi-finals having been given passage to the last four by South Africa's shock capitulation against India.
Rain interrupted the New Zealand innings briefly with the Kiwis making steady if unremarkable progress.
But Pakistan made the breakthrough in the eighth over when Faward Alam claimed Lou Vincent's wicket with a brilliant return catch.
Vincent had made 28 off 28 balls and he was followed in by fellow opener Brendon McCullum who was 26 off 27 when he was trapped lbw by Shahid Afridi.
The momentum was with Pakistan as Scott Styris (18) and Peter Fulton (10) failed to impress before falling to Umar Gul to leave New Zealand 85 for three and struggling.
The next four wickets fell for 20 runs with Daniel Vettori's trip to the middle the most futile as he was run out before facing a ball having sacrificed himself following a shambolic mix-up with Ross Taylor.
Shane Bond was then run out on 126 after more confusion with Taylor.
And, although he swung freely in the final over as he hit Mohammad Asif four, six, four and finished his innings on 37, Taylor did not redeem himself.
Mohammad Hafeez hit Bond for four off the first ball of the reply as Pakistan started quickly, reaching 19 in two overs.
Hafeez brought up Pakistan's 50 in the sixth over, lifting a six back over Mark Gillespie's head.
But he was claimed lbw by Scott Styris two overs later, having made 32 and a total of 60 for the first wicket in partnership with Imran Nazir.
Nazir brought up his own half-century with a six off Jacob Oram and he made 59 before he was trapped lbw by Jeetan Patel with Pakistan on 104 for three.
New Zealand then looked like making a game of it when Younus Khan feathered a thin edge off Vettori and was caught by McCullum.
And, when Shahid Afridi (six) was caught by Fulton off Bond, Pakistan were suddenly vulnerable at 111 for four after 14 overs.
But Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq revived the Pakistan challenge and the captain hit the winning runs in the penultimate over with a majestic six off Patel.
India to hot to handle for shocked Proteas
A pumped up India, inspired by a brilliant four-wicket performance from seamer RP Singh, scored a sensational 37-run win over South Africa at Kingsmead on Thursday night to shock a nation.
India booked a World Twenty20 semi against Australia and knocked hosts South Africa out with a 37-run win.
They were reeling on 61-4 but Rohit Sharma (50no) and skipper Mahendra Dhoni (45) shared 84 to help them post 153-5 in bowler-friendly conditions.
RP Singh (4-13) then helped reduce the hosts to 31-5 before Mark Boucher and Albie Morkel both hit 36 to share 69.
But they folded well short of the 126 they needed to progress and New Zealand face Pakistan in the other semi-final.
India's chances of going through were dealt a blow when Yuvraj Singh, who hit six sixes in an over against England, was ruled out with a forearm injury.
And they were then rocked on a pitch offering inconsistent bounce and movement, which reduced the openers to groping outside off-stump.
Gautam Gambhir's attempted heave off Shaun Pollock ballooned to mid-off, Karthik chipped to mid-wicket for a golden duck and it became three wickets in four balls when Virender Sehwag guided Makhaya Ntini behind.
Robin Uthappa carted Johan van der Wath over deep mid-wicket for a big six, but was dropped by Vernon Philander before mis-timing another big shot to Graeme Smith at mid-off.
The inexperienced Sharma initially overshadowed his illustrious skipper Dhoni and began the revival by taking advantage of poor work in the outfield to collect two fours in a row off Ntini.
The pair then hit Morne Morkel for 18, including a massive six over wide long-on from Dhoni, as the partnership went past 50.
After Dhoni was run out chasing a second, Sharma finished with a big six to reach 50 off the final ball.
India had the momentum, and they emphasised that in a torrid opening burst from Sree Santh and RP Singh.
Singh swung the ball back into Herschelle Gibbs to trap him plumb lbw with his first ball and skipper Smith flayed at one outside off-stump and was brilliantly caught by Karthik diving high to his left at slip.
Karthik then took over keeping duties from Dhoni, who appeared to have suffered a back problem in the first over, and both were leaping up with joy when Santh trapped AB de Villiers plumb lbw.
Just when things had calmed down, Boucher called Justin Kemp through for a quick single after dabbing the ball out on the off-side and Rohit Sharma brilliantly found the target with the latter short of the crease.
Amazingly, Pollock then played around one that Singh nipped back in next ball and his leg-stump was uprooted for a golden duck.
Morkel cracked Joginder Sharma and Irfan Pathan through the covers, while Boucher worked Harbhajan doosra through the leg-side and deftly guided him past short third man for three fours in a row, as the home side rallied.
The fifty partnerships came up off 47 balls - hardly the stuff of Twenty20 - but it was quite clear the Proteas had their sights set on scoring at least 126 even though Morkel hammered Joginder Sharma for a straight six.
However, Santh returned to bowl Boucher off an inside edge and Philander, who had endured a miserable time in the field, was beaten by a flighted Harbhajan doosra to be stumped.
That left the equation 20 off two overs for South Africa to stay in the competition and once RP Singh cleaned up their last hope Albie Morkel, the game was up.
It was asking too much for the last three batsmen to conjure up 17 in the final over and Harbhajan added some gloss to a sensational triumph by having Van der Wath stumped.
India booked a World Twenty20 semi against Australia and knocked hosts South Africa out with a 37-run win.
They were reeling on 61-4 but Rohit Sharma (50no) and skipper Mahendra Dhoni (45) shared 84 to help them post 153-5 in bowler-friendly conditions.
RP Singh (4-13) then helped reduce the hosts to 31-5 before Mark Boucher and Albie Morkel both hit 36 to share 69.
But they folded well short of the 126 they needed to progress and New Zealand face Pakistan in the other semi-final.
India's chances of going through were dealt a blow when Yuvraj Singh, who hit six sixes in an over against England, was ruled out with a forearm injury.
And they were then rocked on a pitch offering inconsistent bounce and movement, which reduced the openers to groping outside off-stump.
Gautam Gambhir's attempted heave off Shaun Pollock ballooned to mid-off, Karthik chipped to mid-wicket for a golden duck and it became three wickets in four balls when Virender Sehwag guided Makhaya Ntini behind.
Robin Uthappa carted Johan van der Wath over deep mid-wicket for a big six, but was dropped by Vernon Philander before mis-timing another big shot to Graeme Smith at mid-off.
The inexperienced Sharma initially overshadowed his illustrious skipper Dhoni and began the revival by taking advantage of poor work in the outfield to collect two fours in a row off Ntini.
The pair then hit Morne Morkel for 18, including a massive six over wide long-on from Dhoni, as the partnership went past 50.
After Dhoni was run out chasing a second, Sharma finished with a big six to reach 50 off the final ball.
India had the momentum, and they emphasised that in a torrid opening burst from Sree Santh and RP Singh.
Singh swung the ball back into Herschelle Gibbs to trap him plumb lbw with his first ball and skipper Smith flayed at one outside off-stump and was brilliantly caught by Karthik diving high to his left at slip.
Karthik then took over keeping duties from Dhoni, who appeared to have suffered a back problem in the first over, and both were leaping up with joy when Santh trapped AB de Villiers plumb lbw.
Just when things had calmed down, Boucher called Justin Kemp through for a quick single after dabbing the ball out on the off-side and Rohit Sharma brilliantly found the target with the latter short of the crease.
Amazingly, Pollock then played around one that Singh nipped back in next ball and his leg-stump was uprooted for a golden duck.
Morkel cracked Joginder Sharma and Irfan Pathan through the covers, while Boucher worked Harbhajan doosra through the leg-side and deftly guided him past short third man for three fours in a row, as the home side rallied.
The fifty partnerships came up off 47 balls - hardly the stuff of Twenty20 - but it was quite clear the Proteas had their sights set on scoring at least 126 even though Morkel hammered Joginder Sharma for a straight six.
However, Santh returned to bowl Boucher off an inside edge and Philander, who had endured a miserable time in the field, was beaten by a flighted Harbhajan doosra to be stumped.
That left the equation 20 off two overs for South Africa to stay in the competition and once RP Singh cleaned up their last hope Albie Morkel, the game was up.
It was asking too much for the last three batsmen to conjure up 17 in the final over and Harbhajan added some gloss to a sensational triumph by having Van der Wath stumped.
Gayle fireworks not enough for Westindies
Chris Gayle struck the first ever Twenty20 international century but it was not enough as Herschel Gibbs lead South Africa to victory by eight wickets.
Gayle blasted 10 sixes, another record, in a pulsating 117 from 57 balls.
Graeme Smith was hit painfully on the hand off the first ball as South Africa chased 206 but the Westindies missed three catches and leaked a record 23 wides.
Herschelle Gibbs, with a runner, fired 13 fours and two sixes in an epic 90 to seal victory with 14 balls remaining.
The bright lights and carnival atmosphere even affected the languid Gayle, who skipped out to the wicket like a prize fighter.
Gayle, freed from the pressure of captaincy, flicked Shaun Pollock over mid-wicket for the opening six in the third over and then dished out the punishment to Makhaya Ntini.
A lofted drive straight down the ground was followed next ball by a stupendous towering stroke that soared like a firework into the second tier at long-off.
Another extraordinary stroke brought him six more, leaning back he sliced it to third man and the altitude helped to just elude the boundary fielder.
It was that rare breed a quiet single that brought up his fifty from 26 balls and at the halfway stage it was 109-0.
The big shots continued amid the dancers in camouflage hot pants in the crowd, and having appeared to damage his arm with another whirling dervish follow through for six, he decided to flick one casually next ball - which went even further.
Smith, finding things difficult, edged in the 14th over but it brought in Marlon Samuels, who took all of one delivery to play himself in before swinging his second for six.
But it was all Gayle, and having sent the ball clean out of the massive Wanderers stadium, another breathtaking shot was bounced back off the players' tunnel.
The shell-shocked South African fielders were compelled to shake Gayle's hand when his incredible innings ended with a top-edge straight up in the 17th over.
Had it not been for Gayle, the hosts would have been firmly in the driving seat, with the other West Indies batsmen struggling to adapt, although skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan hit a six with one hand in the final over.
Beginning their quest to score in excess of 10 an over, the Proteas saw their captain floored by a hostile opening delivery from Daren Powell.
Smith bravely battled on but was clearly impaired and it benefited his team when he drove to cover.
With the score on 59-1 and Gibbs on 20, Dwayne Bravo juggled and spilled a crucial chance on the cover boundary.
Dwayne Smith conceded 20 from his opening over and the required rate dipped below 10 for the first time, but after Fidel Edwards came on for the ninth over and sent down the 14th wide, he ousted AB de Villiers who got a towering leading edge.
With 100 needed from the final 10 overs Gibbs was dropped on the boundary again by Shiv Chanderpaul and reached 100 from 50 balls with the powerful Kemp, who was badly missed in the outfield by Samuels.
Gibbs defied injury to display some superb clean hitting, sharing 120 with the powerful Justin Kemp (46) as the Windies were left to rue their lax display in the field and their failure to build on Gayle's outstanding innings.
Gayle blasted 10 sixes, another record, in a pulsating 117 from 57 balls.
Graeme Smith was hit painfully on the hand off the first ball as South Africa chased 206 but the Westindies missed three catches and leaked a record 23 wides.
Herschelle Gibbs, with a runner, fired 13 fours and two sixes in an epic 90 to seal victory with 14 balls remaining.
The bright lights and carnival atmosphere even affected the languid Gayle, who skipped out to the wicket like a prize fighter.
Gayle, freed from the pressure of captaincy, flicked Shaun Pollock over mid-wicket for the opening six in the third over and then dished out the punishment to Makhaya Ntini.
A lofted drive straight down the ground was followed next ball by a stupendous towering stroke that soared like a firework into the second tier at long-off.
Another extraordinary stroke brought him six more, leaning back he sliced it to third man and the altitude helped to just elude the boundary fielder.
It was that rare breed a quiet single that brought up his fifty from 26 balls and at the halfway stage it was 109-0.
The big shots continued amid the dancers in camouflage hot pants in the crowd, and having appeared to damage his arm with another whirling dervish follow through for six, he decided to flick one casually next ball - which went even further.
Smith, finding things difficult, edged in the 14th over but it brought in Marlon Samuels, who took all of one delivery to play himself in before swinging his second for six.
But it was all Gayle, and having sent the ball clean out of the massive Wanderers stadium, another breathtaking shot was bounced back off the players' tunnel.
The shell-shocked South African fielders were compelled to shake Gayle's hand when his incredible innings ended with a top-edge straight up in the 17th over.
Had it not been for Gayle, the hosts would have been firmly in the driving seat, with the other West Indies batsmen struggling to adapt, although skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan hit a six with one hand in the final over.
Beginning their quest to score in excess of 10 an over, the Proteas saw their captain floored by a hostile opening delivery from Daren Powell.
Smith bravely battled on but was clearly impaired and it benefited his team when he drove to cover.
With the score on 59-1 and Gibbs on 20, Dwayne Bravo juggled and spilled a crucial chance on the cover boundary.
Dwayne Smith conceded 20 from his opening over and the required rate dipped below 10 for the first time, but after Fidel Edwards came on for the ninth over and sent down the 14th wide, he ousted AB de Villiers who got a towering leading edge.
With 100 needed from the final 10 overs Gibbs was dropped on the boundary again by Shiv Chanderpaul and reached 100 from 50 balls with the powerful Kemp, who was badly missed in the outfield by Samuels.
Gibbs defied injury to display some superb clean hitting, sharing 120 with the powerful Justin Kemp (46) as the Windies were left to rue their lax display in the field and their failure to build on Gayle's outstanding innings.
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