September 13, 2007	Thursday	Sha'aban 30, 1428

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 12: Hosts South Africa quashed a tough West Indian challenge by eight wickets as the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship rocketed to a brilliant start here on Tuesday (also partly reported in Wednesday’s edition).

Chris Gayle hammered 117 off 57 balls, the first-ever century in Twenty20 cricket, to lift the West Indies to 205-6 after they were sent in to bat by South African captain Graeme Smith.

The hosts made light of the daunting target of 10.3 runs an over as Herschelle Gibbs smashed an unbeaten 90 off 54 balls and Justin Kemp an unbeaten 46 off 23 balls to see South Africa home with 14 deliveries to spare.

The third-wicket pair put on an incredible 120 runs off just 64 balls with Gibbs lofting Dwayne Bravo to the straight field for the winning boundary.

Gibbs hit 14 boundaries and two sixes and Kemp pounded five fours and two sixes.

Gibbs put on 54 in five overs for the first wicket with Smith and when A.B. de Villiers was dismissed off the first ball of the ninth over, South Africa already had 88 runs on the board.

Before Gibbs and Kemp stole the show, left-handed Gayle appeared to make the match his own with 10 sixes and seven boundaries in his record innings.

Devon Smith contributed 35 in an opening stand of 145 with Gayle, the highest for the first wicket in Twenty20 cricket.

Scoreboard

WEST INDIES:

C.H. Gayle c Boucher b van der Wath 117

D.S. Smith c Boucher b Philander 35

M.N. Samuels c de Villiers b Pollock 6

S. Chanderpaul c Boucher b van der Wath 11

D.R. Smith c Gibbs b M. Morkel 1

R.R. Sarwan c de Villiers b Philander 12

D. Ramdin not out 6

D.J. Bravo not out 0

EXTRAS (LB-4, W-12, NB-1) 17

TOTAL (for six wkts, 20 overs) 205

FALL OF WKTS: 1-145, 2-152, 178, 4-182, 5-188, 6-204.

DID NOT BAT: D.B.L. Powell, R. Rampaul, F.H. Edwards.

Bowling: Pollock 4-0-52-1 (4w); Ntini 2-0-19-0; van der Wath 4-0-33-2, M. Morkel 4-0-30-1 (1nb, 1w); Philander 4-0-35-2 (1w); J.A. Morkel 1-0-16-0 (2w); Smith 1-0-16-0.

SOUTH AFRICA:

G.C. Smith c Gayle b Rampaul 28

H.H. Gibbs not out 90

A.B. de Villiers c Ramdin b Edwards 16

J.M. Kemp not out 46

EXTRAS (LB-4, W-23, NB-1) 28

TOTAL (for two wkts, 17.4 overs) 208

FALL OF WKTS: 1-54, 2-88.

DID NOT BAT: M.V. Boucher, S.M. Pollock, V.D. Philander, J.A. Morkel, J.J. van der Wath, M. Morkel, M. Ntini.

BOWLING: Powell 4-0-34-0 (4w); Rampaul 4-0-52-1 (1w, 1nb); D.R. Smith 2-0-37-0 (5w); Edwards 3-0-22-1 (4w); Bravo 2.4-0-39-0 (2w); Samuels 2-0-20-0.

UMPIRES: D.J. Harper (Australia) and M.R. Benson (England).

TV UMPIRE: N.J. Llong (England).

MATCH REFEREE: B.C. Broad (England).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Chris Gayle.—AFP