Close South Africa 242 for 8 (Rhodes 61, Dippenaar 53, Dillon 4 for 60) beat West Indies 238 for 8 (Gayle 49, Chanderpaul 45) by 2 wickets
Scorecard

It all came down to the last ball - and there were two of them. With South Africa needing three to win off what was supposed to be the final delivery, Merv Dillon bowled a wide down the leg side and Nicky Boje and Alan Dawson scampered a single. Two runs added to the score, one to win and still one ball to go, Dillon served up a full-toss, and Dawson slashed it for four through third man. West Indies, typically, had thrown it away yet again, crumbling at the crunch.

The South African innings had been as mercurial as West Indies cricket has been over the last decade. It began badly when, chasing a seemingly modest target of 239, they lost Herschelle Gibbs early, when he played on to Dillon for 8 (13 for 1).

Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis then steadied the innings, and both seemed totally at ease on a good batting strip against a mediocre attack. Then, as if in a fairy tale, a forgotten man of West Indian cricket emerged and turned the match around. Vasbert Drakes, playing his first international game for over seven years, bowled a superb spell of six overs, conceding only 15 runs and grabbing the crucial wicket of Kallis, caught behind for 10 while flashing at a delivery wide outside the off stump (50 for 2).

Smith followed soon after. He stepped out to Carl Hooper, the ball passed him and Ridley Jacobs tried to effect a stumping. Hooper, meanwhile, appealed for caught behind and was rewarded, as Venkat agreed that the ball had indeed taken an edge (61 for 3). Smith made a solid 33.

Boeta Dippenaar and Jonty Rhodes came together with 170 needed off 195 balls, and as they got their eyes in, the required run-rate climbed past six an over. But both batsmen kept their nerve. They kept the scoreboard ticking by hustling sharp singles, and once Rhodes was settled, he played some wonderful strokes, especially square of the wicket on the off side. He was lucky when he was caught behind in the 35th over from Dillon off what turned out to be a no-ball, but otherwise offered no chances till he was out.

Dippenaar, who averages an impressive 41 in his one-day career, but at a stodgy strike rate of 61, demonstrated his value by anchoring the innings superbly. He took 20 more balls than Rhodes to reach his half-century, but his solidity was a perfect counterpoint to Rhodes's street-smartness.

South Africa were soon coasting, and even Drakes's return to the attack did not change that. The first two overs of his second spell went for 10 runs each, and the required run-rate was soon down to almost a run a ball. Then came a spectacular over by Carl Hooper that turned the game back West Indies' way.

First, he had Dippenaar trying to flick him onto the on side but getting a leading edge, which spooned up to Mahendra Nagamootoo at midwicket (178 for 4). Dippenaar had made 53, and had added 117 with Rhodes. Two deliveries later, Rhodes tried to drive outside off but could only get an inside-edge onto the stumps (179 for 5). He was out for 61, and the pigeons cooed in alarm to find a cat in their midst.

Cunningly, Hooper then brought Nagamootoo into the attack. New batsmen Lance Klusener and Mark Boucher found it difficult to get the spinners away, and only 19 runs came in the five overs from 40 to 44. South Africa had been docked an over earlier for their slow over rate, and as the required run rate mounted, those lost six balls seemed critical. Boucher was bowled by Dillon in the 47th over for 23, swinging and missing, and Shaun Pollock joined Klusener (220 for 6). The last over began with South Africa still needing 13 to win.

The first ball from Dillon was an attempted-yorker-turned-low-full-toss, and Pollock picked it up beautifully for a straight six. Two runs off the next ball, then a mis-hit hoick and Pollock was caught at cover for 10 (234 for 7) by Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Five to win in three. Klusener took a two, then mis-hit a hoick himself to be caught at cover for 23. Three runs required; one ball left. Or so everyone thought.

Earlier, West Indies put together a total that seemed, on such a perfect track for batting, at least 20 runs short. The innings was a West Indian template. Batsman after batsman got a start – the first eight all reached double figures – but nobody went on to get a big one. Chris Gayle, Brian Lara and Hooper all played stroke-filled cameos, Chanderpaul was a perfect anchor, and yet no-one in the team managed to reach the half-century mark. Hidden in that statistic of individual performance was a malaise that has long afflicted West Indian cricket. The absence of application, as demonstrated by all the batsmen, and a lack of discipline, as also echoed by Dillon when he bowled that wide down the leg side on what should have the last ball of the match.

Amit Varma is assistant editor of Wisden.com in India.

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