South Africa defeat Windies in record T20 run chase
South Africa set a new record for run-chasing in international T20 cricket when they scored 259 for four to beat the West Indies by six wickets at Centurion Park on Sunday. Johnson Charles smashed a 39-ball century for the visitors as they posted an imposing 258 for five, the joint sixth-highest total in T20 internationals. However, Quinton de Kock responded with 100 from 44 balls, a maiden T20I century, while fellow opener Reeza Hendricks hit 68. "It was pretty, pretty crazy. When we came off halfway, we thought we had enough," said West Indies skipper Rovman Powell. "But credit to Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks. They applied pressure from ball one." South Africa captain Aiden Markram (38 not out) saw his side home with seven balls to spare. The previous highest run chase was Bulgaria's 246 to beat Serbia in 2022 while Australia made 245 to beat New Zealand in 2018. "It was quite special. Reeza was the silent assassin. When I got out he said, 'We just did something really special and we should be proud of what we've done'," said De Kock whose innings was laced with nine fours and eight sixes. "We have played together for so long. We know what he can do." De Kock shared an opening stand of 152 in 10.5 overs with Hendricks to set up the win. Hendricks' 28-ball assault on the West Indies bowlers featured 11 fours and two sixes. De Kock clubbed three sixes off successive balls from Sheldon Cottrell in a second over which yielded 29 runs. South Africa scored 102 runs in the six-over power play, a record in matches between Test nations. Asked how he approached his innings, De Kock said: "Just pick the right options and play with a bit of hope. Playing at Centurion, we know we can get a lot of runs here." (AFP)