• 3 of the best: Tahir works his magic

    As Imran Tahir prepares for his final ODI match for the Proteas, we remember three occasions where he weaved his magic in the green and gold.

    6-24 vs Zimbabwe (Mangaung Oval, 2018)

    An upset was on the cards as the Proteas limped to 198. The scorecard says they would go on to win by 120 runs. How? Imran Tahir, of course. He picked up six on the day including a hat-trick starting with the final ball of the 18th over …  first Sean Williams headed back before he dismissed Peter Moor and Brandon Mavuta at the start of his next over as Tahir joined a very select club of hat-trickers in SA ODI cricket.

    5-45 vs West Indies (Sydney Cricket Ground, 2015)

    It took four years for Tahir to pick up his maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs as he helped South Africa over the line against the West Indies. Sure, the opposition were up against it after AB de Villiers’ 162 powered the Proteas past the 400 mark but it was still up to the bowlers to get it done. Tahir dominated once more as he picked up wickets at regular intervals before claiming the milestone.

    4-41 vs West Indies (Feroz Shah Kotla, 2011)

    The spinner was finally unleashed on the international stage and what an entrance he made. The first Protea to debut at a World Cup, he got rid of opener Devon Smith before picking up three wickets (Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Devon Thomas) to ensure the Windies were restricted to just 222.

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    SA CRICKET