South Africa defeated West Indies by six wickets in a record-breaking game overnight after completing the record chase in Twenty20 international cricket to reach 259-4.
The second game of the series saw West Indies bat first, and they hit 258-5, making the match at Centurion the first T20 international in which 500 or more runs were scored.
When Quinton de Kock scored his first T20 international century with 100 from 44 balls and fellow opener Reeza Hendricks added 68 from 28, South Africa was able to successfully chase down the enormous goal with seven balls remaining.
They had a 152-run opening wicket partnership, setting South Africa up for its record-breaking chase. With one game remaining, series tiebreaker captain Aiden Markram led the Proteas to victory with a 38-run inning.
While the 517 runs total is the greatest match total in a men’s T20 match in history, South Africa’s pursuit of 259 is the highest T20 chase, surpassing Bulgaria’s pursuit of 243 against Serbia in 2022.
De Kock praised his collaboration with Hendricks, saying, “We just wanted to offer our side a bit of optimism and that’s what we did.”
With help from Kyle Mayers’ 51 and Romario Shepherd’s 41 unanswered, Johnson Charles smashed 118 from just 46 balls to bring up West Indies’ high total.
West Indian Evin Lewis Charles sets new T20I record with century in 39 balls, surpassing Chris Gayle’s previous mark
West Indian hitter Charles set a new T20I record with his innings, scoring a century in 39 balls, eight faster than Chris Gayle’s previous mark from 2016. David Miller of South Africa, Rohit Sharma of India, and Sudesh Wickramasekara of the Czech Republic are the only ones who have achieved faster T20I centuries, all in 35 balls.
Charles contributed significantly to another game record by smashing 11 sixes. The most sixes ever in a T20 international were 35. In an innings that appeared to be giving West Indies the series victory, Charles also blasted 10 fours, but de Kock and South Africa had other plans.
Moreover, West Indies captain Rovman Powell described the situation as “very, pretty insane.” “We believed we had plenty when we stopped halfway. However, Yet Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks deserve praise. They exerted pressure starting with ball one.
The teams will now play a series-deciding game on Tuesday in Johannesburg.