Quinton de Kock lauded "silent assassin" Reeza Hendricks after the pair put on 152 to kick-start South Africa's record run chase against West Indies.
South Africa beat the Windies by six wickets at Centurion on Sunday, chasing down a target of 259.
It marked the record successful run chase in a T20I, while De Kock (100 from 44 deliveries) hit the fastest 50 in the shortest format for South Africa, with his half-century coming from just 15 balls.
De Kock, supported ably by Hendricks (68), took the fight to Windies from the off, with the Proteas reaching 102-0 by the end of the first powerplay. It is the highest powerplay total in a T20I involving a full-member nation.
Hendricks picked up the slack after De Kock's dismissal at the hands of Raymon Reifer (1-42), and the latter put the credit on his fellow opener.
"It was quite special. Reeza was the silent assassin," said De Kock, whose century was his first in T20Is.
"When I got out he said, 'We just did something really special and we should be proud of what we've done'.
"We have played together for so long. We know what he can do."
Asked about his approach, De Kock added: "Just pick the right options and play with a bit of hope. Playing at Centurion, we know we can get a lot of runs here."
South Africa captain Aiden Markram finished the job with 38 runs from 21 balls, and said both teams can be proud of being involved in such a thrilling encounter, with 81 boundaries plundered between the sides.
"It was a great game to be a part of," said Markram. "All in all I think both teams can appreciate it."
Johnson Charles' sublime 118 from 46 deliveries set the Windies on their way to a big total that seemed set to be enough to see the tourists take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
Charles' century came off just 39 balls, a new record for a Windies player.
"It was pretty, pretty crazy. When we came off halfway, we thought we had enough," said West Indies captain Rovman Powell.
"But credit to Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks. They applied pressure from ball one.
"We tell [Johnson] to go hard. We give him a licence to hit. He played very well today.
"This is the seventh game I've been on the T20 circuit that we scored 240 or 250 runs and we lost so I'm quite used to it now."
'We weren't efficient' - Marquinhos bemoans PSG profligacy after Champions League exit
Marquinhos believes Paris Saint-Germain paid for their profligacy after suffering Champions League semi-final heartbreak against Borussia Dortmund.
Mats Hummels' second-half header from a Julian Brandt corner - the only goal at Parc des Princes - wrapped up a 2-0 aggregate victory for the Bundesliga side, who advanced to their third final and first since 2013.
Meanwhile, PSG's wait to land the elusive European crown goes on, despite a whopping 44 shots across the two legs, while they also struck the woodwork on six occasions - their overall tally of 14 the most recorded by a team during a single campaign.
Indeed, Luis Enrique's side failed to find the net in a home match for the first time since their 0-0 draw with Lorient in their first Ligue 1 match of the season, as their hopes of completing the treble vanished for another year.
"We lacked efficiency," Marquinhos told Canal+. "They scored two goals from corners and a through ball that we had worked on. We had to defend better. These are small details.
"We created chances, a lot more than them. We weren't efficient. They were efficient, they scored two goals and won both matches."
But despite the disappointment, the PSG skipper urged his team-mates to focus on the positives from their run to the semi-finals.
They recovered from a disappointing 4-1 defeat against Newcastle United to finish second behind Dortmund in Group F, before overturning a 4-2 aggregate deficit to deny Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
"There are a lot of things to take away from this competition," Marquinhos added. "At the beginning of the season, no one believed that we would get this far. We've overcome a lot of obstacles, we shouldn't throw everything away now just because we're eliminated.
"You have to remember that it's a new team, with a new coach. There are some positives to bring back for next season. We wanted to go to Wembley for the fans and our families.
"You have to stay calm after the elimination. It's very hard. We've come very close. We had to win tonight and be more efficient."
Brighton 1-0 Aston Villa: Villans' top-four hopes stutter after late Pedro header
Aston Villa missed the chance to close in on a Champions League place after they were beaten 1-0 at Brighton.
Joao Pedro’s late header settled Sunday's contest at the Amex Stadium, the striker nodding in three minutes from time after Robin Olsen saved his initial penalty.
With fifth-placed Tottenham travelling to Liverpool later on Sunday, Villa could have taken a huge step towards sealing a place in Europe's top club competition with victory.
However, Unai Emery’s side remain fourth and seven points above Spurs, who have two games in hand, while Brighton climb to 11th.
The Seagulls carried the greater threat during a first half of few opportunities, with Simon Adingra stinging Olsen’s palms from distance.
Villa, who lost Morgan Rogers to injury midway through the half, also had Olsen to thank twice in first-half stoppage time. First, he kept out Adingra’s tame volley from a Pedro cross before also thwarting Pascal Gross from close range.
The hosts continued to look the more likely to break the deadlock after the interval. Olsen denied Pedro, while Julio Enciso fired narrowly over from distance.
Brighton thought they had taken the lead inside the final quarter when Gross turned in Igor’s cross from inside the six-yard box, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review adjudged Gross to be offside.
The visitors also had the ball in the net at the other end, though the offside flag denied John McGinn, who tucked away after the ball ricocheted kindly for him in the six-yard box.
However, it was Brighton who got the breakthrough in the 87th minute. Olsen guessed correctly to keep out Pedro’s penalty after Ezri Konsa tripped Adingra, but the Sweden international was helpless as the striker headed home the rebound to give Brighton victory.
Pedro hits the 20 mark
Brighton arrived in this contest off the back of successive defeats, and looking to avoid three on the spin for the first time since March 2022.
The Seagulls had also lost each of their previous five Premier League meetings with Villa, who could have secured their Champions League qualification with a win and a Spurs loss at Liverpool.
Gross almost broke the deadlock on his 200th Premier League start for Brighton – his strike ruled out following a VAR review – becoming only the second player to reach that figure after Lewis Dunk.
However, Pedro turned out to be the match winner as he became the first player to score 20 goals in all competitions in a single season for the Seagulls since Glenn Murray in 2016/17 (23).
Toothless Villa stumble
Villa – who were stunned by Olympiacos in the Europa Conference League on Thursday – were unable to capitalise on their opportunity to potentially secure their top-four place following an uncharacteristically quiet outing in front of goal.
Ollie Watkins had scored six goals in his last four appearances against Brighton – his highest tally against a single opponent – and had been directly involved in eight goals in his last five Premier League away games (scoring six and assisting two).
However, the England striker was unable to build on that momentum in a game where Villa registered just two shots on goal.
That was their lowest tally in a Premier League match since May 2016 against Newcastle United (also two), while they only registered fewer on record against Manchester United in August 2005 (one).
They should still have enough to secure a top-four place, but Emery’s team need to get over their hump.
IPL: Jadeja stars as CSK move into playoff places
Chennai Super Kings moved into the Indian Premier League playoff places after beating Punjab Kings by 28 runs in Dharamshala.
The reigning champions avenged their seven-wicket defeat by the Kings in Chennai four days earlier to climb to third place in the table with three games remaining.
After a slow start, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Daryl Mitchell's partnership brought 57 runs and settled CSK into their stride. Although MS Dhoni went for a duck, Ravindra Jadeja's late surge of 43 from 26 balls saw them close at 167-9.
Tushar Deshpande claimed Jonny Bairstow and Rilee Rossouw in the second over to stem the Kings' early momentum, while Jadeja (3-20) also took a quickfire double of Sam Curran and Ashutosh Sharma in the 13th over as the hosts finished well short of their target at 139-9.
Data debrief
In getting back to winning ways, CSK ended their five-game losing streak against the Kings, stretching back to 2021.
Despite going for a duck, Dhoni managed to make amends in the field. When he caught out Jitesh Sharma, he became the first player in IPL history to take 150 catches.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
