Happy Birthday Chris Morris: 4/31 vs Sri Lanka and Other Brilliant Performances by the South African All-Rounder
Chris Morris can trouble the best of the batsmen by setting the speed gun on fire and his hitting ability lower down the order makes him a great asset in limited-overs cricket. The all-rounder has represented South Africa in all the formats of the game and holds a decent record too.
South Africa’s star all-rounder Chris Morris celebrates his 33rd birthday on Thursday (April 30, 2020). Hailing from Pretoria, Morris can trouble the best of the batsmen by setting the speed gun on fire and his hitting ability lower down the order makes him a great asset in limited-overs cricket. The all-rounder has represented South Africa in all the formats of the game and holds a decent record too. Along with that, Morris has also proved his mettle in various T20 leagues around the world like IPL and BBL. As Morris turns a year older, we’ll look at some of his best performances. Chris Morris Attempts Fake-Mankad Marcus Stoinis During Sydney Thunder vs Melbourne Stars BBL 2019-20, Loses The Ball (Watch Video).
Making his First-Class debut at the age of 22, the right-arm pacer was quite late to start his professional career. However, his prowess didn’t take quite long in hogging attention as he received contracts from various T20 leagues around the world including the Indian Premier League (IPL). Finally, in 2012, Morris made his international debut for South Africa. However, he never enjoyed a long run in the national side. During the course, nevertheless, the all-rounder put up several impressive performances. Below, we’ll look at five of those.
4/31 Against Sri Lanka in Centurion
In the fifth ODI of Sri Lanka’s 2017 Tour of South Africa, the home side posted a mammoth total of 384-6 in the first innings and the deck looked ideal to bat on. However, that wasn’t the case when Morris came on to bowl. He bowled brilliantly with the new ball and took wickets upfront before scalping two more wickets in the end overs. Courtesy his brilliance, the visitors lost the game by a massive margin of 88 runs.
4/23 Against Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai
Another Morris special was witnessed during Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders clash in IPL 2015. On a pitch where RR piled up a mountain of 199 runs, KKR lost wickets at regular intervals courtesy a stellar spell by Chris Morris. He put up a brilliant exhibition of fast bowling and dried up the flow of runs. Along with being economical, the right-arm pacer scalped four vital wickets, guiding his side to a nine-run triumph.
62 Against England in Johannesburg
Chasing a target of 263 runs during the 4th ODI of England’s 2016 Tour of South Africa, the home side was reduced to 210/8 and their defeat was on the cards. However, Morris had different plans and he helped the Proteas side make a comeback by raining fours and sixes. He batted brilliantly with the tail-enders and scored 62 runs off just 38 balls. His efforts proved to be fruitful as the home side clinched the match by one wicket.
4/27 Against Afghanistan in Mumbai
A great upset was set on the cards during South Africa’s league match against Afghanistan in ICC T20 World Cup 2020. Chasing 210 for victory, the Afghan side went off to a flying start courtesy some brilliant hitting by Mohammad Shahzad. However, skipper Faf du Plessis gave the ball to Chris Morris and the momentum of the game shifted again. He just didn’t uproot the stumps of Shahzad but took three more crucial wickets in the game, guiding Proteas to a 37-run victory.
82* Against Gujarat Lions in Delhi
Playing for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), the right-handed batsman unleashed absolute mayhem against Gujarat and played a jaw-dropping knock. Chasing a target of 173 runs, Delhi were tottering at 57/4 and the result of the game seemed inevitable. Nevertheless, Morris fought back in the end overs and there were fireworks all over the park. He scored 82 runs off just 32 balls. However, he didn’t get much support from the other end and as a result, DD lost the game by one run.
During the 2020 IPL player auction, Morris bagged a whopping amount of INR 10 crore from Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He was expected to change the fortunes of the Virat Kohli-led side. However, just like many other major tournaments, the T20 extravaganza has also been postponed amid COVID-19 pandemic.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 30, 2020 08:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).