• Wavell Hinds’ 16-ball duck is the third joint worst performance by any batsman in World Cup. The record is held by Holland’s Tim De Leede who faced 19 balls before getting out on duck against Pakistan at Lahore in 1996 World Cup. Three batsmen have returned to pavilion with duck against their name despite facing 17 balls - East Africa’s Frasat Ali (in 1975), New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming (in 1999) and Zimbabwe’s Paul Strang (also in 1999). Sri Lanka’s Arjuna Ranatunga had also recorded a 16-ball duck in 1983 World Cup.
• Brian Lara, who was dropped off the first ball, scored his 16th hundred in One-day internationals. He hasn’t played any international cricket for four and half months since the ICC Trophy in Sri Lanka. Lara had made 111 off 120 balls against Kenya in his last outing, so he has now scored two hundreds in his last two innings.
• Brian Lara’s 116 was his best in World Cup matches. His previous best was 111 also against South Africa at Karachi in 1996 World Cup. Lara, in fact, became first batsman ever to score two hundreds against South Africa in World Cup. Only two other batsmen have succeeded in scoring a hundred against South Africa in World Cup. They are – Australia’s Steve Waugh (120* in 1999) and Pakistan’s Aamir Sohail (111 in 1996). Interestingly both Waugh and Sohail failed to win the match for their respective countries. While the match between Australia and South Africa in 1999 ended in tie, Pakistan went on to lose the match despite Sohail’s heroics.
• Pollock, who was over the moon after bowling his first two overs maiden and conceding only 20 runs in his eight overs, did not know what hit him after completing his quota of 10 overs as he conceded 32 runs in his last two overs. His ninth over (47th of the innings) being the most expensive of his ODI career. Pollock was carted for 23 runs in this over by Ramnaresh Sarwan and Ricardo Powell. Never before in his career, Pollock had been hit for as many runs in an over.
• West Indies, which needed 123 balls for their first fifty, needed exactly 100 balls lesser for their fifth fifty !!
• West Indies scored 110 runs off their last ten overs and 63 off their last five.
• Powell started and ended his innings in the identical fashion - hitting a four.
• Powell and Sarwan added 63 runs for the sixth wicket off just 28 balls and their fifty partnership came off only 21 balls.
• Powell with his innings of 40 runs off just 18 balls (scoring rate 222.22) now enjoys the distinction of recording the highest scoring rate in a World Cup game among the batsmen who have made atleast 40 runs in an innings. The previous record was on the name of Australia’s Tom Moody who made 56 not out off 29 balls (strike rate 193.10) against Bangladesh in 1999.
• Powell, in fact, just failed to beat Australia’s Allan Border’s record of highest scoring rate in an innings against South Africa in all ODIs.. Border had scored 40 not out off just 17 balls (scoring rate 235.29) at Port Elizabeth in 1994.
• Powell has now scored 1288 runs off 1290 balls in One-Day Internationals which gives him a scoring rate of 99.84. Among the batsmen who have scored at least 1000 runs in a career, only two batsmen – India’s Virender Sehwag (101.95) and Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi (101.53) – have a career scoring rate better than Powell’s.
• Lance Klusener became fourth South African batsman to hit five (or more sixes) in an innings after Daryll Cullinan (7 sixes v New Zealand at Auckland in 1999), Shaun Pollock (6 sixes v New Zealand at Perth in 2002) and Jacques Kallis (5 sixes v West Indies at Dhaka in 1998).
• Klusener also became only the fifth batsman to hit five sixes in an innings against West Indies after New Zealander Chris Cairns (6 sixes at Auckland in 2000), India’s Krish Srikkanth (5 sixes at Sharjah in 1988),Pakistan’s Basit Ali (5 sixes at Sharjah in 1993) and fellow teammate Jacques Kallis (5 sixes at Dhaka in 1998).
• South Africa were always ahead of West Indies in run-rate from over 1 to 49. They still ended on the losing side !!
• The victory margin of 3 runs was narrowest for West Indies in a World Cup game. It was also the narrowest defeat for South Africa in World Cup.

(Article: Copyright © 2003 Rajneesh Gupta)