New Delhi: South Africa comfortably posted their first win in the ICC World Cup 2023 with a 102-run victory over Sri Lanka in a 700-run affair at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday.
Sri Lanka batters tried their heart out in the middle but the 429-run target seemed too big to eclipse. After losing two quick wickets of Pathum Nissanka (nought) and Kusal Perera (7), the Lankan batters used application to forge partnerships in the middle order to keep pushing the inevitable.
Wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis (76), Charith Asalanka (78) and skipper Dasun Shanaka (68) kept scoring runs at a good pace to keep the team in the hunt for an almost improbable target set by the Proteas. Sri Lanka crossed 300 losing eight wickets, but wasn’t enough to get to anywhere close to 429 runs.
Earlier in the evening, Quinton de Kock (100 off 84 balls), Rassie van der Dussen (108 off 110 balls) and Aiden Markram (106 off 54) hit centuries to take South Africa to 428 for five on belter on offer. Put into bat, the Proteas lost their first wicket in the form of captain Temba Bavuma (8) in the second over and got into trouble. But that's it! Sri Lanka's joy ended there only as thereafter De Kock and Dussen added 204 runs for the second wicket to take the match away from the islanders. Markram scored his century in just 49 balls, the fastest in the history of the ODI World Cup.
Markram, who walked in at number 4, smashed the third century of the innings thereby adding another 78 runs for the fourth wicket. Also, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller also made merry with the Lankan bowling attack. Klaasen's 32 came off 20 deliveries while Miller's blitzkrieg 39 required only 21 deliveries to almost seal the fate of the tie.
Four Sri Lankan bowlers — Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka, Matheesha Pathirana Dunith Wellalage — all conceded more than 80 runs in their allotted 10 overs each. Madushanka claimed two wickets conceding 86 while Rajitha, Pathirana and Welallage took one apiece conceding 90, 95 and 81 runs respectively. Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka must be cursing himself for putting South Africa into bat on a belter that had a lot of runs from the taking.
105 boundaries were hit in this game, which is now the most in any ODI World Cup game. The previous best was 93 boundaries, which were hit in the game between West Indies and New Zealand at Wellington in 2015.
South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma said that his team produced a clinical performance. Sri Lanka next plays Pakistan in Hyderabad on October 10 while South Africa heads to Lucknow to take on five-time champions Australia on October 12.
Brief Scores: South Africa 428/5 in 50 overs (Rassie van der Dussen 108, Aiden Markram 106, Quinton de Kock 100; Dilshan Madushanaka 2/86) beat Sri Lanka 326 all out in 44.5 overs (Kusal Mendis 76, Charith Asalanka 78, Dasun Shanaka 68; Kagiso Rabada 2/50) by 102 runs.
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