<p>Jonty Rhodes stormed the consciousness of the cricket fans with a singular moment of brilliance on the cricket field at the 1992 World Cup. <br /><br /></p>.<p>South Africa, back in international cricket fold, had already caught the imagination of the fans with some fine shows and the World Cup offered them a perfect stage to reach out to a global audience. <br /><br />Pakistan were their opponents in their fifth match of the World Cup on March 8, at Brisbane. South Africa made 211 and after a rainy spell, Pakistan’s target was revised to 194 in 36 overs. <br /><br />They were going well with Inzamam ul Haq and Imran Khan at the crease but that inspired piece of fielding by Rhodes — who made his ODI debut in their first match of the tournament against Australia — turned the game around.<br /><br />Inzamam tried to hoick Brian McMillan to the onside but the ball hit his pad and rolled towards the offside. As Inzamam charged down the wicket for a single, Rhodes, fielding at backward point, raced forward, picked up the ball and instead of throwing it, ran towards the stumps, and finally produced a dive to send the wickets crashing. Inzamam’s desperate lunge wasn’t enough to beat this quicksilver piece of action.<br /><br />The Pakistan innings lost its momentum and they eventually ended at 173 for eight. It’s a different matter that while Pakistan went on to win the title, South Africa lost out controversially after a rain-hit semifinal against England.</p>
<p>Jonty Rhodes stormed the consciousness of the cricket fans with a singular moment of brilliance on the cricket field at the 1992 World Cup. <br /><br /></p>.<p>South Africa, back in international cricket fold, had already caught the imagination of the fans with some fine shows and the World Cup offered them a perfect stage to reach out to a global audience. <br /><br />Pakistan were their opponents in their fifth match of the World Cup on March 8, at Brisbane. South Africa made 211 and after a rainy spell, Pakistan’s target was revised to 194 in 36 overs. <br /><br />They were going well with Inzamam ul Haq and Imran Khan at the crease but that inspired piece of fielding by Rhodes — who made his ODI debut in their first match of the tournament against Australia — turned the game around.<br /><br />Inzamam tried to hoick Brian McMillan to the onside but the ball hit his pad and rolled towards the offside. As Inzamam charged down the wicket for a single, Rhodes, fielding at backward point, raced forward, picked up the ball and instead of throwing it, ran towards the stumps, and finally produced a dive to send the wickets crashing. Inzamam’s desperate lunge wasn’t enough to beat this quicksilver piece of action.<br /><br />The Pakistan innings lost its momentum and they eventually ended at 173 for eight. It’s a different matter that while Pakistan went on to win the title, South Africa lost out controversially after a rain-hit semifinal against England.</p>
