Twitter Reactions: Albie Morkel, Jonty Rhodes and Paul Harris shine for South Africa in a stunning comeback win

South Africa Legends have made a winning start to their Road Safety World Series campaign. They defeated the West Indies Legends chasing down 144 runs courtesy of their Jonty Rhodes’ brilliant knock. It seemed like the game was running away from South Africa after a terrific spell from Tino Best, but Albie Morkel and skipper Jonty Rhodes rode against the path of misery and knitted a valuable partnership for the side. Once again for the West Indies, they came agonizingly close to winning the game but fell a good distance short.

Batting first, West Indies got off to a decent start with Darren Ganga once again starting things on the front foot. The iconic Shivnarine Chanderpaul got in the act as well, clipping some boundaries when there was a chance. However, the introduction of left-arm spinner Paul Harris led to not one but two breakthroughs in no time. He dismissed both the openers in quick succession with some beautifully flighted deliveries.

His spell just got better as it went by, as he managed to pick up the big scalp of Brian Lara. There was some temporary respite for the Windies when Rovman Powell got hold of the ball a few times and chipped in with some boundaries. He registered a much-needed 40-run stand with Danza Hyatt as the Windies touched the 100-run mark.

Carl Hooper was not to be denied some entertainment on the day as he came along and gave a decent finish to his side. His 18-ball 23 salvaged some pride and helped West Indies Legends score 143 runs on the board for the loss of 8 wickets. Paul Harris was the pick of the bowlers, who registered figures of 4/21.

Albie and Jonty save a sinking Proteas ship

Even in their opening game against India, West Indies looked threatening with the ball, especially Tino Best, but they couldn’t cash in on that. That didn’t happen in this game as Best, who kept clocking speeds in excess of 135 regularly, got rid of the dangerous Herschelle Gibbs. He dismissed Jacques Rudolph in the next over as the agony just piled on for the side. Sanford dismissed Morne van Wyk, which brought about the end of three Proteas batsmen inside 6 overs.

Martin van Jarsvield tried surviving in the middle but found it difficult and was eventually dismissed for a 17-ball 5. This brought Albie Morkel to the middle, who joined his skipper Jonty Rhodes in a precarious situation. Morkel took a couple of overs to get his eye in and once he did, he smashed three sixes in the 12, 13 and 14th overs. Rhodes then chipped in and got three boundaries in the 15th, which brought the required rate under control.

Both batsmen complemented each other brilliantly and after a point, runs kept coming thick and fast from both sides. Rhodes got to his half-century first and Albie Morkel followed his skipper, as the duo put up a sensational 104-run unbeaten partnership. Morkel finished the game with a boundary off Carl Hooper and Proteas won the game by 6 wickets.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to this amazing performance from South Africa: