The year was 2007 and it was the 2007 ODI World Cup and this moment was perhaps the most memorable moment of the worst ODI World Cup in history. The 2007 World Cup was one where nobody watched and it took the 2011 World Cup to be incredible to bring back the prestige of the tournament back. It was the match between South Africa vs Netherlands and it was played on 16th March 2007.
Let’s look at those 6 sixes which put Herschelle Gibbs in the record books
Herschelle Gibbs males history at the 2007 ODI World Cup
It was 16th March 2007 and it was the league match between South Africa vs Netherlands. It was an important match for both teams as it was early in the tournament. South Africa were batting first and they got off to the worst possible start as AB De Villiers got out for 0. Then the pair of Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis took South Africa off to a great partnership of 114 Runs for the second wicket. Then it was Herschelle Gibbs who came out to bat at number 4 and Jacques Kallis was batting brilliantly and was anchoring the innings. Herschelle Gibbs made an attacking 72 runs from just 40 balls smashing 4 fours and 7 sixes in this innings meaning 56 runs came in boundaries. After that it was Mark Boucher who was in T20I mode as he was batting at a strike rate of over 241 as he hit 75 runs from just 31 balls.
He smashed 9 fours and 4 sixes meaning 60 runs were only in boundaries. As a result of 4 great batting performances, South Africa made a brilliant 353 runs in the first innings and the match was over even before the second innings started. Netherlands were not able to put up any fight as they were bundled out for a paltry 132 runs for 9 wickets. It meant that South Africa won this match by a whopping 221 runs and all the bowlers contributed and there were 3 run outs as well. These sorts of matches were the reason for the poor ODI World Cup in 2007.
Also Read | Best Performances of Herschelle Gibbs
However let’s talk about those six sixes that Herschelle Gibbs hit in this match
The Six Sixes
It was the 30th over of the South African Innings and the bowler was a part time bowler named Daan Van Bunge. Let’s take a look at those 6 sixes one by one
The first ball of the over and it was a bad ball which was punished by Herschelle Gibbs as he sent the ball sailing over long on and it was a huge six. It immediately put pressure on the bowler.
The second ball of the over was on the leg side and Herschelle Gibbs smashed the ball straight over the bowler’s head and it hit the sight screen. It was proving to be a costly over by Daan Van Bunge.
The Third ball of the over was bowled well And it was on the off side but Gibbs was in imperious form as he hit the ball for a massive six over long on and as a result he brought up his 50 in just 33 balls. The danger of 6 sixes in 6 balls was looming.
The fourth ball of the over was a knee length full toss and these were easy pickings for Herschelle Gibbs in this form as he smashed the 4th six of the over and it was looking like it was going to be 6 out of 6.
The 5th ball of the over was a flatter ball outside the off stump and Gibbs was prepared for that ball and he hit the ball for the 5th six of the over and now he was one ball away from making history in the World Cup Daan Van Bunge had one ball to avoid getting in the record books for the worst reason.
The sixth ball of the over was the worst and all Herschelle Gibbs had to do was get bat to Ball and he smashed the ball over deep mid wicket for a huge six which would have cleared all the grounds in the world. By hitting this ball for a six, Herschelle Gibbs created history and Daan Van Bunge became the unluckiest bowler.
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