8. WAS IT A MATCH OR ONE OF HITCHCOCK’S THRILLERS?
If you are a patient suffering from heart disease, you simply cannot afford to put your life at risk by watching matches such as this. Prior to its commencement, the game was expected to be an evenly poised contest as both sides were blessed with several in-form players and were well balanced in every department. Batting first, the Proteas put up an enormous score of 281 runs on the board, which set New Zealand a revised D/L target of 298 runs. Earlier during the South African innings, David Miller (49 off 18 balls) pumped the accelerator and some lusty blows from his blade ensured that the Proteas reached a formidable score of 281.
The task was well cut out for Brendon McCullum and Co. and the Kiwi skipper started off the New Zealand innings in the most emphatic manner possible by launching a ruthless assault on world beaters like Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. He scored a quick-fire 59 off 26 balls, intended to lessen the burden on the shoulders of the batsmen to follow. But, the explosive opener soon fell to Steyn and thereafter what followed was a middle order collapse, leaving New Zealand reeling at 149/4 at one stage. The Proteas who have become synonymous with the ‘Chokers tag’ over the years looked in perfect shape to turn the tables around. Grant Elliott and Corey Anderson had a mountain to climb but that didn’t deter them from delivering a counter punch. Anderson scored valuable 58 runs before getting run out but Elliott continued to keep the scoreboard ticking which left the equation at 12 needed from the final over. Many would have backed Vettori to do the job, given the wealth of experience the veteran has at his disposal but it was South African born Elliott who took the Black Caps across the finish line by lofting the penultimate delivery over long-on to finish unbeaten on 84. In the end, the South Africans looked highly dejected and crestfallen unlike the rejuvenated Kiwis who made it to the final of the World Cup for the first time ever, but Elliott showed enough courtesy to offer Steyn a hand, whom he hit for 2 sixes in the final over of the game- a frame you would want your walls to adore forever.
