Rilee Rossouw brought jaws and PSL records – down with an unbridled display of power hitting, turning a chase of 243 into a cakewalk. Along the way, he made the joint fastest fifty of the tournament, converted it into its fastest ever hundred going past himself and pushed the Multan Sultans into the PSL playoffs.
Peshawar Zalmi still not sure of their place in those playoffs have now lost two straight matches despite posting 240 and more on the board. They were ambushed by Jason Roy a few nights ago and now it was Rossouw’s turn as the South African powerhouse clattered eight fours and 12 sixes to mastermind the second highest chase in all of T20 history, with five balls to spare.
The longest Rossouw went between boundaries in his innings was six balls. His first five scoring shots were all fours or sixes. And he kept going. By 17 deliveries faced, he had a fifty to his name. He only ran two of those runs. Two.
That detour into English county cricket via Kolpak had taken one of the biggest and brightest stars in South Africa away from the spotlight. But he’s back now and he’s got numbers that are scarcely believable. Over 297 T20s, he’s maintained an average over 30 and a strike rate over 140. Some of the other people who’ve managed to do that are Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, David Warner and AB de Villiers.
Rossouw had a strong support cast helping him. Kieron Pollard chipped in with 52 off just 24 balls. Their third wicket partnership – 99 off 43 balls – formed the bedrock of this chase.
