and there's a historic win for West Indies, as Ntini spoons a top-edge to Powell, running around from mid-off and holding it at extra cover!
South Africa vs West Indies, 1st Test at Gqeberha, Dec 26 2007 - Ball by Ball Commentary
RESULT
1st Test, Gqeberha, December 26 - 29, 2007, West Indies tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa
New
SA 2nd Innings
Full commentary
This will be a sweet, sweet win for West Indies, their first taste of success since May 2005 at home. Not many gave them a chance when they landed in South Africa but they've dominated almost every session of this Test to take the series opener by 128 runs. Its their first overseas win (excluding against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe) since they beat England at Edgbaston in 2000. Wonderful to see them smiling proudly as they embrace each other.
For Dwayne Bravo, its his first win in 24 Tests ... wow. Spectacular win for West Indies, their first in South Africa. The hosts were outplayed in this Test and move to Cape Town down 0-1.
First up, Graeme Smith: "Our skills in the first two days let us down ... we played poor cricket ... they deserved victory ... we never performed as well as we hoped ... its hugely disappointing ... we need to regroup and use this pain to come back hard in the second Test ... we need to battle hard and grind out more than we did in this game ... this is a new challenge for us ..."
Next, Chris Gayle, cool as ever: "(laughing as the stats are rattled off) I'd like to thank the guys...first win in seven years, and first in South Africa ... its unbelievable, trust me ... I'm very pleased ... I really wanted to play this Test and be with the guys, and the decision paid off ... credit to South Africa, the second-best team in the world ... the new coach John [Dyson] has been terrific ... hats off to all the guys ... we have work to do, especially in fielding, but no complacency now ..."
And last, its Man-of-the-match Marlon Samuels: "I'm great full for the support from my team ... I need a couple more centuries ... and hope we can win some more cricket ..."
Whew, its been some Test match, hasn't it? I hope you've enjoyed it as much as George and I did, bringing you the commentary over four days. Thanks for tuning in to Cricinfo again.
The second Test starts on January 2 at 10:30 local, 08:30 GMT so do join us again. Until next time, this is Jamie Alter signing off on behalf of all of us at Cricinfo. Goodbye for now!
74.5
W
Samuels to Ntini, OUT
Makhaya Ntini c Powell b Samuels 1 (7b 0x4 0x6 5m) SR: 14.28
Ganga moves in at forward short leg
74.4
•
Samuels to Ntini, no run
tossed up on off stump, Ntini prods forward and defends
74.3
•
Samuels to Ntini, no run
tossed up on middle and leg, well defended this time
74.2
•
Samuels to Ntini, no run
dropped by Powell at mid-off! Ntini drills it hard but he dives and makes a total mess of a regulation catch
74.1
•
Samuels to Ntini, no run
tossed up from around the stumps, he comes forward and defends
end of over 748 runs • 1 wicket
SA: 260/9CRR: 3.51
Makhaya Ntini1 (2b)
Dale Steyn33 (26b 3x4 2x6)
Daren Sammy 7-0-29-1
Marlon Samuels 6-1-14-0
73.6
1
Sammy to Ntini, 1 run
too full on the pads and he flicks uppishly past midwicket for one
73.5
•
Sammy to Ntini, no run
good length, slipping in from off stump, Ntini comes forward and defends
Makhaya Ntini is the last man in. West Indies one away from a historic Test win.
73.4
W
Sammy to Nel, OUT
party's over for Nel! Sammy gets a wicket, pitching full outside off stump, Nel pokes at it leaden-footed and gets a thin feather through to Ramdin and South Africa are nine down
Andre Nel c †Ramdin b Sammy 34 (37b 4x4 1x6 48m) SR: 91.89
73.3
•
Sammy to Nel, no run
slower one, on a length outside off, he swipes and misses all ends up
73.2
1
Sammy to Steyn, 1 run
dances down again, makes a mess of the slog and it lands over mid-off
73.1
6
Sammy to Steyn, SIX runs
oh hello, he's literally smoked that, dancing down and creaming over cover
end of over 733 runs
SA: 252/8CRR: 3.45
Andre Nel34 (35b 4x4 1x6)
Dale Steyn26 (24b 3x4 1x6)
Marlon Samuels 6-1-14-0
Daren Sammy 6-0-21-0
72.6
•
Samuels to Nel, no run
quicker one on a length, Nel gets in line an pushes to silly point
72.5
•
Samuels to Nel, no run
lobbed up down leg stump, goes for a shot but the ball balloons off the pad
72.4
•
Samuels to Nel, no run
tossed up outside off, stretches forward and drives to cover
72.3
1
Samuels to Steyn, 1 run
tossed up wide, he drives, the ball's in the air for a while but Samuels is slow
72.2
1
Samuels to Nel, 1 run
slower one on off stump, he gets forward and nudges to extra cover
72.1
1
Samuels to Steyn, 1 run
tossed up on middle and off, he plants his leg out and slams it down to long-on and thats his best score till date
end of over 728 runs
SA: 249/8CRR: 3.45
Andre Nel33 (31b 4x4 1x6)
Dale Steyn24 (22b 3x4 1x6)
Daren Sammy 6-0-21-0
Marlon Samuels 5-1-11-0
71.6
•
Sammy to Nel, no run
full again, outside off, and he drives nicely to extra cover
Where are the short deliveries, into the jugular?
71.5
1
Sammy to Steyn, 1 run
comes down, sees the full ball and drills it out to deep midwicket
71.4
1
Sammy to Nel, 1 run
full on leg stump, he plants the leg out and swings down to deep square leg
Match Coverage
Instant answers to T20 questions
South Africa Innings
<1 / 3>