Johannes Albertus Morkel, better known as Albie Morkel, the former South African all-rounder is celebrating his 42nd birthday on June 10. Albie, recognized as a potential successor to Lance Klusener from a young age, gained fame for his exceptional talent in hitting sixes and his adeptness in medium-pace bowling.
Irrespective of the formats, the southpaw never shied away from attacking the bowlers with so much ease. One of his standout and unforgettable moments came during the 2012 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Albie displayed an exceptional performance by mercilessly attacking Virat Kohli, smashing the Delhi-born cricketer for a remarkable 28 runs in a single over.
It happened in the thrilling match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) when CSK needed 43 off the last two overs. The then RCB skipper Daniel Vettori handed over the ball to Kohli as he had only two options left in the form of Raju Bhatkal, who had conceded 35 runs in his two overs and Chris Gayle.
Morkel displayed his dominance by taking Kohli to task, launching three gigantic sixes and two fours in an over which cost RCB as many as 28 runs. The ‘Yellow Army’ capitalized on this momentum and ultimately emerged victorious in the match by successfully chasing down the required 15 runs in the final over, which was bowled by Vinay Kumar.
Here is the video:
Who’s looking forward to @albiemorkel bringing the heat 🔥🔥🔥 2012: Albie Morkel ransacked 28 runs off the first six balls he faced launching three sixes, two fours and ran a two! #bringtheheat #heatup pic.twitter.com/BvIQq0mUjB
— Durban Heat (@durban_heat) October 20, 2018
Morkel made his international debut for South Africa in December 2004 in an ODI against Zimbabwe. He went on to play a total of 58 ODIs, scoring 782 runs at an average of 23.06 and taking 50 wickets with his bowling.
In T20Is, Morkel played 50 matches for South Africa, scoring 572 runs at an average of 21.18 and taking 26 wickets. He was a valuable all-rounder for the team in the shorter format of the game. He also had a successful domestic career for the Titans in South Africa’s domestic circle. Morkel announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in January 2019, ending a career that spanned more than a decade.
