‘They’re about ten runs short’ – Reeza Hendricks reveals Kagiso Rabada’s bold words during record-breaking 2nd T20I

Reeza Hendricks and Kagiso Rabada. (Photo by PHILL MAGAKOE/AFP via Getty Images and Twitter)

It was mind-numbing carnage when South Africa clashed against the West Indies in the second T20I in Centurion on Sunday, March 26, as the Proteas completed a record chase against the visitors. South Africa’s opening batter Reeza Hendricks, who played a pivotal role in the chase revealed star pacer Kagiso Rabada’s words during the halfway mark in the match, drawing a parallel to the iconic South Africa-Australia clash in Johannesburg in 2006.

South Africa, who lost the T20I series opener in a rain-curtailed affair, opted to bowl first in the second match of the series. The visitors lost Brandon King in the very first over of the match, but Kyle Mayers and Johnson Charles’s explosive stand for the second wicket, followed by brisk cameos from Rovman Powell and Romario Shepherd, propelled the Windies to their highest-ever T20I score.

Even after conceding 258 runs in the first innings, South African pacer Kagiso Rabada, who was the least expensive bowler in the first innings, reckoned that the tourist were ‘ten runs short’, revealed Reeza Hendricks after the match. Rabada’s words were similar to that of the legendary Jacques Kallis, who had reckoned the same when South Africa conceded 434 runs in the first innings of the Johannesburg ODI against Australia in 2006.

As the home side did in 2006, Aiden Markram’s South Africa made history after completing the highest chase in T20I history. The hosts chased the target with seven deliveries to spare as Quinton de Kock’s century eclipsed Charles’s ton to draw South Africa level in the three-match series.

Quinton de Kock’s opening partner, Hendricks, who smashed a breathtaking 68 off just 28 deliveries, revealed that the batters never stopped believing at any stage and were always confident of chasing down the stiff target set by the Windies.

“We never doubted ourselves at any stage. We believed we had the batters in the team to go out and chase the score so guys were quietly confident,” Hendricks said after the match.

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