'Kallis came and said 'bowlers we've done a great job, Australia are 15 runs short'': Smith recalls epic 434 chase

Herschelle Gibbs's 175 eclipsed Ricky Ponting's 165 in Johannesburg as the Proteas chased down 434, with one ball remaining,

Former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith on Sunday revisited the epic game against Australia when his team recorded the highest successful run chase in ODIs. Herschelle Gibbs's 175 eclipsed Ricky Ponting's 164 in Johannesburg as the Proteas chased down 434, with one ball remaining, and the world witnessed one of the greatest run-chases in the limited-overs cricket.

South African team celebrates its series win against Australia  (Getty Images)

Australia opted to bat first and openers Adam Gilchrist and Simon Katich laid down a 97-run opening stand. Ponting then shone with 105-ball 164 before Michael Hussey (81 from 51 balls) and Andrew Symonds (27 off 13 deliveries) helped Australia post an intimidating total on the board.

In response, Smith departed after scoring 90 in 55 balls but Gibbs went on to score 175 in 111 balls with 21 boundaries and seven maximums. AB de Villiers (14) and Jacques Kallis (20) chipped in with cameos but it all boiled down to seven runs needed off the last over bowled by Brett Lee. Mark Boucher, who scored a brisk fifty, finished things off in style with a lofted shot over mid-on as South Africa won the game and sealed the series 3-2.

Recalling the high-octane game at the Wanderers Stadium, Smith revealed how Jacques Kallis joked in the dressing room to "break the ice" during the innings break.

"Walking off the field after winning the toss and choosing to bowl first, you can imagine I wasn't feeling that great as a captain. We had a very short space of time to turn around. I thought 'Let me pad up first as I've to open the batting. Let me get that done first'. It's about getting my head ready to bat and we'll get the team in the right frame of mind," Smith told cricket.com.

"While I was padding up, Jacques Kallis came launching into the room and said, 'Bowlers we've done a great job and Australia are 15 runs short'. When the opposition had scored 434, it (Kallis' words) broke the ice a little bit and everyone burst out laughing. We then set some targets and everyone burst out laughing again."

Smith also labelled the game as the "greatest" ODI to have ever played, given the fact that the momentum kept swaying for the whole 100 overs.

"Then it was just about knowing, 'I'm going out first. How do I get the team off to a good start and get some momentum.' But what a rollercoaster! Herschelle Gibbs was incredible and so was Ricky Ponting's knock. And I think it's still the greatest ODI ever played in terms of the ebbs and the flows, the final-ball finish and the emotions at the Wanderers," he further added.