Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting shared a throwback photograph of the jacket he wore during the final of 1998 Commonwealth Games against South Africa. The Proteas beat Australia by four wickets to clinch the gold medal in a low-scoring encounter in Kuala Lumpur.
Ponting uploaded the photo of his jacket, signed by fellow cricketers, on his Twitter handle and his post read: “Found my jacket from the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games in 1998. One of the few occasions we weren’t good enough in a big tournament, South Africa outplayed us in the gold medal game.”
In the blockbuster finale, South Africa elected to field first and their decision to do so paid dividends as they dismissed Australia for just 183 in 49.3 overs.
Shaun Pollock was the pick of South Africa bowlers as he ended with outstanding figures of 4/19 in 9 overs. Paul Adams and Nicky Boje also chipped in with wickets to keep the opposition’s score well below the 200-run mark.
Skipper Steve Waugh top-scored with an unbeaten 90 for Australia but none of the other batsmen could make any significant contributions. Darren Lehmann was the next best scorer with 26 as six batsmen were dismissed in single-digit scores.
{{/usCountry}}Skipper Steve Waugh top-scored with an unbeaten 90 for Australia but none of the other batsmen could make any significant contributions. Darren Lehmann was the next best scorer with 26 as six batsmen were dismissed in single-digit scores.
{{/usCountry}}Chasing the target, opener Mike Rindel slammed a half-century while Jacques Kallis chipped in with a handy 44 to help the team win the match with 24 balls to spare.
Spinner Lehmann scalped three wickets but the small target meant Proteas were never really troubled in the chase and won the match comprehensively.