South Africa hung on to their nerves to win a thrilling encounter against Australia in Queenstown at the ICC U19 World Cup.
The close finish at the Events Centre took viewers down memory lane when the senior Aussie and South African teams were involved in a pulsating World Cup semi-final in 1999.
Unlike that summer day, 11 years back, the Proteas did not have to walk out of the park disappointed.
Man-of-the-Match Dominic Hendricks looked special with the bat and it was Alex Keath who was to ensure that the opener did not reach a well-deserved hundred on his way to help South Africa reach their target of 277.
However, Hendricks had done more. Partnering skipper Josh Richards, he stitched 65 runs in less than 10 overs.
Stephan Smith, who came in at number three, added 41 valuable runs for the second wicket and chipped in with 30 as South Africa kept abreast of the scoring rate.
Though Kane Richardson kept it tight at one end, picking up three wickets in the course, the Proteas never looked in trouble when they had coasted to 208 for four in the 37th over.
That was the moment Australia decided to strike back. Three quick wickets dried up the runs and South Africa soon found the heat turned on.
It was only a composed, unbeaten 27 by Dale Deeb that saw the Proteas home.
Earlier, electing to bat first, Aussie skipper Mitchell Marsh would have been beaming despite losing his opening partner Tom Beaton in the third over.
Alex Keath was at his sublime best and took the onus on himself after Marsh’s dismissal.
Jason Floros joined Keath at the middle and added 127 runs for the fourth wicket and at one point it looked like they would coast past 300 had it not been for Graham Hume, who picked up three for 35 off his 10 overs, which included three maidens.
Floros was unfortunate to miss out on a hundred by a mere four runs but his partnership with Keath (64) allowed the Aussies to post a daunting total after a weak start.
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