Gary Kirsten Outshines Sourav Ganguly & Sachin Tendulkar | Three Centuries at the Wanderers

Cricket

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Join this channel to get access to perks:    / @cricketmax87   The first Standard Bank One-Day International at the Wanderers turned into a batting spectacle, featuring three centuries and a record-breaking chase — but it was Gary Kirsten’s unbeaten 133 that proved decisive as South Africa beat India by six wickets with 10 balls to spare. India’s innings revolved almost entirely around two master batsmen. Sourav Ganguly led from the front with a magnificent 127, his highest ODI score at the Wanderers, while Sachin Tendulkar played a comparatively restrained knock to bring up his 30th ODI century. The highlight of the partnership came when Ganguly reached his hundred and Tendulkar his fifty in the same over, a moment that summed up their dominance. Ganguly, despite carrying a finger injury, was in brutal form — peppering the boundary and launching five sixes, while Tendulkar paced his innings with classical control, drawing huge anticipation from the crowd as he approached three figures. His dismissal the very next ball after reaching the milestone was a dramatic turning point, and India eventually finished on 279 for 5, then the highest ODI total at the venue. South Africa’s reply was headlined by Gary Kirsten’s masterpiece. Often understated compared to flashier contemporaries, Kirsten delivered an innings of supreme efficiency and control. He raced to his first fifty in just 44 balls, unusually the aggressor in a 114-run opening stand with Herschelle Gibbs. After Gibbs fell for 48, Kirsten added 93 for the second wicket with Jacques Kallis, ensuring the chase never drifted. Mixing innovation with experience, Kirsten punished anything around his hips and dominated the early and middle overs. Jonty Rhodes provided momentum with a quick 20, and when Lance Klusener arrived with 38 still required, the result felt inevitable. Klusener smashed two huge sixes off Javagal Srinath before falling, leaving the final touches to Neil McKenzie. South Africa crossed the target with ease, rewriting the record books by sur