South Africa are commonly known as “Chokers” in cricket for being the most unlucky team in this sport. However, they are very determined to remove the tagline by winning the ODI World Cup 2023. The Proteas have started their mission in the World Cup in style, bagging two victories out of their first two games.
Today, South Africa gave Australia no chance and sealed a dominating win by 134 runs at Lucknow Stadium. They showed their prowess with both batting and bowling. They ended their batting innings with a massive 311 runs thanks to Quinton de Kock’s brilliant century. In reply, Australia became all-out in just 177, resulting in South Africa winning by 134 runs.
As It Happened
Pat Cummins, the captain of Australia, won the toss and opted to bowl first. But Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma, the two openers of Australia, proved Cummin’s decision wrong by making a great opening partnership.
The two batters had a slow start but kept going. However, Quinton de Kock accelerated the scoreboard after he got settled down between the wickets. He started hitting some big shots after his fifty. But Temba Bavuma was very defensive on the crease yet lost his wicket after scoring 35 off 55.
Anyway, Quinton de Kock has been in brilliant form. He smashed a century in the first match and did the same today against Australia. With five sixes and eight fours, Quinton de Kock scored the highest 108 runs for the Proteas. As a result, Quinton de Kock is now the leading run-scorer in this tournament with 109 runs from the first two games.
However, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, and Heinrich Klassen made contributions to the team. Among them, Aiden’s innings were the most effective as he scored the second-highest run for South Africa. Before losing the wicket, Markram scored a quick 56 off 44. Relying on them, South Africa posted a total of 311 runs in 50 overs.
Chasing the target, Australia had a nightmare in facing Protea’s pacers. Their top order collapsed once again in the World Cup. They lost their two openers, Mitchell Marsh and David Warner, in just 27 runs. Moreover, Australia became four wickets down in 56 runs and six wickets down in 70!
Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, and Keshav Maharaj destroyed Aussie’s batting lineup. However, Marnus Labuschagne tried to make a resistance with Mitchel Starc. They made a partnership of 69 runs in the 8th wicket. But it was not enough to avoid the defeat. Starc lost his wicket after scoring 27, while Labuschagne scored the highest 46 runs before losing the wicket. After that, Australia became all-out in just 177 runs. They are the only team in the World Cup who have failed to score 200+ runs in their first two games.
