Gary Kirsten’s Masterclass | Gritty 56 vs Pakistan | Sheikhupura 1997 Vintage Knock. Step back in time to witness one of South Africa’s most technically accomplished batsmen—Gary Kirsten—display his unmatched patience, concentration, and classical batting technique during the 2nd Test match against Pakistan at Sheikhupura in October 1997. Known for his strong defense and calm presence at the crease, Kirsten played a vital knock of 56 runs off 142 balls, occupying the crease for 159 minutes and stroking 7 beautiful boundaries. It was a masterclass in Test match batting against a quality Pakistani attack that included Waqar Younis, Mushtaq Ahmed, and Saqlain Mushtaq.
This innings wasn’t about fireworks—it was about mental strength, survival, and wearing down the bowlers. In this video, we revisit the grace and discipline that defined Kirsten’s batting, a true reminder of what Test cricket once stood for. With 7,289 runs in 101 Tests at an average of 45.27, including 21 centuries, Gary Kirsten remains one of South Africa’s greatest Test batsmen. His contribution laid the foundation for many South African victories in the 1990s and early 2000s.
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00:00In the annals of South Africa cricket, few best men have expected the calm assurance
00:05and technical finances quite like Gary Christen, a craftsman at the crease.
00:10Christen was the epitome of grit and grace.
00:13His game built not on flamboyance but on sheer patience, sound technique and mental fortitude.
00:20With soft hands and precise footwork, he was the master of playing the ball under his eye,
00:25late and close to the body, allowing him to neutralize the spinning tracks on testing surfaces.
00:30Such was the case during the second test against Pakistan at Sheikho Pura, held from October
00:3517 to 21, 1997.
00:38Under warm skies and on a pitch that offered poor turn and variable bounce, Gary Christen
00:43stood firm like a seasoned campaigner, aimed the probing spells of Vaseem Akram, Mushtaq
00:48Ahmed, Saklan Mushtaq and Ali Hussain Rizvi.
00:51The left-handed delivered a knock-carved and classical style, and innings of 56 runs crafted
00:56from 142 deliveries over 159 minutes.
01:00He found the fans on seven occasions, each boundary a reward for patience and perfect placement
01:05rather than the brute power.
01:07Let us now revisit those vintage moments.
01:09An era when Tusk cricket demanded temperament and technique above all.
01:13Watch Gary Christen's elegant resistance at Sheikho Pura and shock in the artistry of one
01:18of South Africa's most reliable opening best men, a treat for lovers of old-school Tusk cricket.
01:25And that's gone away through Mohen Khan, and I think that went, it has gone for four
01:40byes, it has indeed.
01:47That's a lovely stroke, guiltily timed, very well placed, and Mushtaqsen have a struggle, I think
02:04he'll just pull it back.
02:11And so, three runs there, and the bails come off, and the players now depart into the pavilion
02:19for tea.
02:21That was a lovely stroke, he found the gap, timed it very well, Kirsten.
02:35And 89.
02:36Oh, but he was a bit lucky then, and that is a shot that Gary Christen plays rather too often.
02:44He got out to Shane Warne playing that quite often, cutting against the leg spin, and that
02:51went between wicket-keeper and slip.
02:53For four, it brings up the 100.
02:57Yes, Kirsten waiting for that one, and not playing it well in the end.
03:02It was Seema from a little wider in the slips.
03:07That's beautifully forced away off the back foot by Gary Kirsten.
03:10I think this has got too much for even the speedy Rizvi, and he's very quick across the
03:15turf, and it is four runs.
03:18Beautifully played by Gary Kirsten.
03:24It's width again, and Gary Kirsten opening the face, playing his favourite cut shot.
03:32Beautifully timed.
03:49And again Gary Kirsten, who's finding his touch now, forces this one away to the boundary
03:55for four, backward a square on the offside, giving himself room, and the last over, remember,
04:01he got a bit of an edge, it went between keeper and slip, but this one he played well.
04:05Come on, come on.
04:06Again, beautifully done.
04:08Just a little wide outside the off stump, and Kirsten quick to pounce on that.
04:14That's a fine stroke.
04:19It was a little bit short, quick on his feet, and Kirsten whipping that away to the deep-mid
04:26wicket boundary.
04:28Famous last words.
04:31That was the full half folly, and it got the treatment, and that is Kirsten's 50.
04:35What a lovely way to get there.
04:37Full and wide.
04:41Kirsten could be said that he placed that there, that's his eleventh with four hundreds.
04:50Missing out, of course, by two runs in the first test.
04:53Raul Pindi for his fifth hundred.
04:57Field that collides with the umpire, but I don't think would have made any difference.
05:02And it ends the over.
05:03Six fours to Gary Kirsten.
05:05It's 50 runs.
05:06Score now, 129 for no wicket.
05:10The ball just a little bit too close to play the shot that Gary Kirsten wanted to.
05:15We'll see in a moment whether it actually came back to him.
05:18Seven fours in his 56.
05:22142 deliveries.
05:25164.
05:29It was not just the number that spoke of his brilliance.
05:57It was the manner in which he weathered the storm.
06:00Socking up pressure and straining the innings with the poise of a true test bestman.
06:05His knock was less about dominance and more about defiance.
06:08Blending the new ball.
06:10Respecting the good deliveries and catching in on to the loose one with signature drives and flicks.
06:16Gary Kirsten is one of the South Africa's most dependable and technically sound opening bestmen.
06:21Enjoyed a stellar test carrier that spanned over a decade.
06:25From 1993 to 2004, he was known for his unflappable temperament, rock-solid defence and immense power of concentration.
06:34Gary Kirsten played 101 test matches scoring 7,289 runs at an impressive average of 45.27.
06:42His record includes 21 centuries and 34 half centuries with a high score of 275 against England at Kingsmead Durban in 1999-2000.
06:53A marathon innings that lasted more than 14 hours and remains one of the longest in test cricket history.
07:00Gary Kirsten was the kind of player every team dream of at the top of the order.
07:05He was patient, composed and prepared to grind down bowling attacks session after session.
07:10Whether facing fiery passers on bouncy South African tracks or skillful spinners on the turning pitches of the subcontinent.
07:17Gary Kirsten stood firm with a calm head and a bat that rarely betrayed him.
07:22His ability to adapt to different conditions and play long, disciplined innings made him the anchor around which many South African batting efforts were built during the formative years after the country's return to international cricket.
07:36Post-retirement, Gary Kirsten seamlessly transitions into coaching, famously guiding India to their historic 2011 World Cup triumph.
07:45But as a batsman, Gary Kirsten will always be remembered as a symbol of consistency, discipline and classical test match batting.
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