Heinrich Klaasen slammed 174 off 83 balls to lead a South African batting assault against Australia in the fourth one-day international at SuperSport Park on Friday.
Klaasen shared an extraordinary fifth-wicket partnership of 222 off only 94 balls with David Miller (82 not out) as South Africa piled up 416 for five, their fifth-highest total in one-day internationals.
Klaasen struck 13 fours and 13 sixes before being caught on the boundary off the last ball of the innings.
A run spree of such magnitude did not seem likely as accurate as Australian bowling and a slower than usual Centurion pitch saw South Africa make relatively sedate progress on a ground known for high scoring.
At the second drinks break, the total was 157 for three off 32 overs.
The acceleration started with a stand of 74 off 57 balls between Rassie van der Dussen (62) and Klaasen.
It went into over-drive when the left-handed Miller joined Heinrich Klaasen and hit the second ball he faced, from leg-spinner Adam Zampa, for six.
Miller’s 82 not-out came from 45 balls and included five sixes and six fours.
South Africa’s thrashing saw Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa equalling Mick Lewis’ record of the worst bowling figures in ODI cricket.
Zampa was taken to the cleaners by the South African batters and consequently conceded a whopping 113 runs in his quota of 10 overs and went wicketless.
Zampa went for nine sixes and eight fours during South Africa’s onslaught which also included a 26-run 48th over against Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller.
His dismal bowling figures were the joint-most expensive in the history of ODI, equalling Mick Lewis’ dubious, who also went for none for 113 against South Africa in 2006.
Notably, Adam Zampa’s haul of nine sixes is the joint-second worst by a bowler in an ODI and is now only behind Rashid Khan, who conceded 10 sixes against England in 2019.
Zampa was hammered for 113 runs off his 10 overs, Marcus Stoinis conceded 81 runs and Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Ellis went for 79 apiece.
It is a must-win game for South Africa, with Australia leading the five-match series 2-1.