Khotso

With the series locked at 2-2, both Australia and South Africa were staying in the same hotel before the decider on March 12, 2006. When the Australian team went out for dinner, they noticed South African batter Herschelle Gibbs sitting at the hotel bar enjoying his drinks. Two hours later, when the Aussies returned, he was still there. Mike Hussey later recalled that even around 10 PM, before going to bed, he looked down from his room and saw Gibbs still drinking. The incident infuriated coach Mickey Arthur and he wanted to drop Gibbs immediately. But injuries in the squad meant they had no choice but to play him, bluntly telling him he was only in the 11 because there was no one else available. The next day, Australia piled up a mammoth 434 batting first. When South Africa began the chase, the hangover man, Gibbs walked out early and decided to write his own redemption story. In one of the greatest ODI innings ever played, he smashed 175 off just 111 balls, hammering 21 fours and 7 sixes. Everything he touched raced to the boundary as he dismantled the Australian attack. With strong support from Graeme Smith and a match winning finish by Mark Boucher, South Africa pulled off the impossible of chasing 438 in one of cricket’s most legendary matches. As Gibbs walked off after his masterpiece, he winked at Mickey Arthur and said, “There you go, Mickey, no worries.” On this day in 2006, the 438 thing happened ❤️