By Tony Becca, Senior Sports Editor 
West Indies bowler Mervyn Dillon, left, celebrates captain Carl Hooper after dismissing South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs for 24 during the opening game of the 2003 World Cup, yesterday. - Reuters Right: Brian Lara salutes the capacity crowd after reaching his century against South Africa yesterday. Lara went on to make 116. - Dellmar
CAPE TOWN:
THE WORLD CUP of cricket got off to a cracking start yesterday with the West Indies clipping second favourites South Africa by three runs in a stroke-filled, thrilling and dramatic curtain-raiser at Newlands.
In a day and night match that started in South Africa's favour with the West Indies on seven for two after seven overs and then looked like ending in the home team's favour with nine runs from one over needed for victory and the hard-hitting Lance Klusener in full cry, the West Indies staged a wonderful recovery and but for a stumbling Pedro Collins who stepped on the boundary rope while taking a catch, kept their cool to tick off a morale-boosting victory.
After winning the toss and electing to bat in natural light instead of under floodlights, the West Indies, thanks to ace batsman Brian Lara who stroked a brilliant 116 off 134 deliveries and Ricardo Powell and Ramnaresh Sarwan who smashed 63 runs off 20 deliveries in a blazing, undefeated sixth-wicket partnership, recovered to post a challenging 278 for five off their allotted 50 overs. Then, with pacer Vasbert Drakes snatching two wickets in the final over, stunned the home crowd into silence by limiting South Africa to 275 for nine off 49 overs after they were penalised one for tardiness in the field.
At one stage, South Africa were on the run at 204 for seven with the target still 75 runs away and only nine overs to go before Klusener went hunting, and with South Africa hitting their way to 270 for seven and just a few runs away, the West Indies looked like losers before Drakes stepped in and worked a bit of magic.
In a brutal assault during which he hit slow bowler Chris Gayle for three sixes in one over including the one to Collins on the backward square-leg boundary, Klusener smashed 57 runs off 46 deliveries before captain Carl Hooper handed Drakes the ball for the final, decisive over.
In an over he will never forget, Drakes removed Klusener - caught by Hooper at mid-wicket, and Makhaya Ntini brilliantly caught by Sarwan running some 30 yards to his right on the cover boundary.
According to Dr. Ali Bacher former captain of South Africa and the executive director of World Cup 2003, this World Cup should be the best of all time, and based on yesterday's opening day action which ended in a somewhat surprising result and during which 553 runs were scored - including 46 fours and 13 sixes, if half the matches to come are half as exciting, it will be no doubt about that.
On a lovely Cape Town day - a day when the heavy wind stayed away and the sun shone in all its brilliance, it was batting at its best as Lara thanked the gods for an early escape with a scintillating display, Powell and Sarwan made merry with some flashing stroke-play. In their desperate bid for victory so too did Mark Boucher, who scored 49 off as many
deliveries, Klusener, and Herschelle Gibbs who stroked four lovely boundaries and looked dangerous before he was brilliantly caught by wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs off pacer Mervyn Dillon for 24 at 46 for one in the ninth over.
The innings of class, however, came from Lara.
Joining the action with Wavell Hinds gone - beaten off the pitch and caught at the wicket, Gayle gone bowled off the bottom edge attempting a square-drive, and South Africa, thanks to captain Shaun Pollock, on top and the ball moving off the seam away from the left-handers, Lara played some delightful strokes before, with the score on 215 for four with five overs to go, he went at pacer Ntini, attempted to whip the ball through mid-wicket and top-edged a catch to Pollock.
Dropped first ball by Kallis when he went back to Ntini and the ball cut away off the pitch and flew off the outside edge to second slip, the left-hander, like his left-handed partner Shivnarine Chanderpaul, looked a bit unsure before he found his touch, took control and then dominated the bowling with some classic strokes nine of which sailed along the ground to the boundary, three of which dropped just short, and two of which sailed high over it.
In notching his 16th one-day century, his third World Cup century and his second against South Africa, Lara shared in two important partnerships - 102 off 145 deliveries for the third wicket with Chanderpaul who scored a patient, invaluable 34 off 98 deliveries , and 89 off 79 deliveries for the fourth wicket with Hooper who scored 40 off 40 deliveries.
The partnership that really powered the West Indies into a position from which they could press for victory, however, was that between Powell, who hit five fours and one six straight down the ground while scoring 40 off 18 deliveries, and Sarwan, who scored 32 off 15 deliveries while smashing two sixes and two fours.
With the home crowd cheering them on, South Africa started confidently with Gibbs hooking Dillon and pulling Collins for boundaries as they hopped to 40 without loss off seven overs.
The loss of Gibbs saw wickets falling regularly, however, and when Gary Kirsten popped a return catch to Dillon to make it 155 for five in the 32nd over, the World Cup second favourites at 5/2 were in serious trouble.
