Gibbs was hungover during the epic 434-run chase
In his autobiography, Gibbs revealed that he had been drinking till 1 am with a friend and had a massive hangover by the time he came out to bat.
The date 12/3/2006 is extremely important in ODI cricket history and Herschelle Gibbs is a huge reason behind its significance. 15 years ago on this day, Herschelle Gibbs slammed a brilliant 175 to guide South Africa for a victory in an incredible world record chase of 434 against Australia. However, the right-handed batsman was nearly deemed unfit to even take the field. It was an impressive knock by the flamboyant batsman, but the thing that made it special was the fact that Herschelle Gibbs was going through a hangover after a night out before the match against Australia.
In his autobiography, 'To the Point: The No-holds barred Autobiography' 47-year-old Gibbs revealed that during his man-of-the-match knock of 175 in that game, he was nursing a hangover after a night of drinking just the previous day.
It was a brilliant knock by the South African as he smashed the Australian bowlers to all parts of the ground, but what his innings more special is that he was suffering from a hangover after a night out before the match against Australia.
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In his autobiography, Gibbs revealed that he had been drinking till 1 am with a friend and had a massive hangover by the time he came out to bat. However, it did not prove to be a deterrent as he hit 21 fours and 7 sixes en route to his career-best score in limited-overs cricket. South Africa's chase of 434 remains the highest run chase by any team in history.
That 5th ODI between South Africa and Australia at the Wanderers is widely regarded as the greatest ever 50-over match. Australia, batting first, put on a mammoth 434 runs in the series decider thanks to a 164-run knock from Ricky Ponting.
