338, 416, 315, 428, 311, 207, and 399 – These are South Africa’s scores for the last seven ODI matches. Before the start of the 13th ODI World Cup, no one would have considered this team as favorites. However, the Proteas’ performances have allotted them the driver’s seat in the World Cup. And its proof has been found once again against the defending champions England.
Batting first against England in the 20th match of the World Cup on Saturday (October 21), South Africa scored a colossal 399 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. In response, the English innings ended up scoring 170 runs in 22 overs. That resulted in South Africa winning by 229 runs.
South Africa won their first match by scoring a record 428 runs against Sri Lanka. They won the next match against Australia scoring 311 runs. This time they got a big collection of 399 runs against England. The victory came against the English too, that too with such aggression.
Before this match, the Proteas were bowled out for 207 runs against the Netherlands. Apart from that match, South Africa has won six matches by showing dominance. Bangladesh, Pakistan, New Zealand, India, and Afghanistan will have to enter the field with a strong plan after seeing the outrageous performances of this particular opponent. If they can’t make solid plans against the African Batting lineup, it could end up like Sri Lanka, Australia, and England.
In the match against England, Quinton de Kock (4) was caught behind in the second ball after hitting Reece Topley for a boundary on the first ball after losing the toss. However, Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen dominated on the second wicket. 121 runs came in the pair of the two. Dussen was caught by Jonny Bairstow off Adil Rashid, he made 60 off 61 balls. Reeza was out smashing 9 fours and 3 sixes, playing an innings of 85 runs off 75 balls.
After that, captain Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen kept the rhythm down at the crease. Markram returned to the pavilion after playing an innings of 42 runs for the team’s 233 runs. David Miller then failed to accompany Klaasen well at the crease. He was a victim of Topley with only 5 runs from 6 balls.
However, bowling all-rounder Marco Jansen has made up for Miller’s lack of a devastating batsman. He joined the boundary-smashing celebration with Klaasen at the crease. On the other hand, Klaasen scored the sixth-fastest century in World Cup history facing 61 balls in a devastating innings. On the other hand, Jansen made up the first fifty of his career against 35 balls. The two together brought up 151 runs for the team in the last 12.4 overs.
Klaasen, the hero who built the mountains of runs for the Proteas, got out with 109 runs off 67 balls. His innings was studded with 12 fours and 4 sixes. On the other hand, Jansen was unbeaten with 6 sixes and 3 fours scoring a career-best 75-run innings from 42 balls.
Reece Topley, who took the highest number of 3 wickets for the English, was quite miserable. He gave away 88 runs in 8.5 overs. Gus Atkinson and Adil Rashid got 2 wickets each.
In response to the 400-run target set by South Africa, England lost the first wicket in the team’s 18 runs. After that, the procession of wickets falling started. The top order and middle order of the team collapsed after scoring 38 runs. The world champions lost 8 wickets by the time they completed the team’s century.
In the end, Mark Wood and Atkinson scored 70 runs in 32 balls, but the end was not in their favor. Proteas had to stop at 170 runs. South Africa won by 229 runs. For the English, Mark Wood played an unbeaten innings of 43 runs off 17 balls with 2 fours and 5 sixes, which was the highest for them on the day as well. Besides, his partner Atkinson scored 35 runs off 21 balls.
All five bowlers scalped wickets for Africa in this match. Gerald Coetzee took the maximum number of 3 wickets. Apart from this, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen picked up 2 wickets each and Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj got 1 wicket each.
South Africa – 399/7 (50.0)
England – 170/10 (22.0)
Result – South Africa won by 229 runs
Player of the match – Heinrich Klaasen
Heinrich Klaasen
England | Jos Buttler (c & wk), Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, Harry Brook, David Willey, Gus Atkinson, Reece Topley, and Mark Wood. |
South Africa | Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Gerald Coetzee, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, and Kagiso Rabada. |
Relive the thrill of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, where South Africa defeated England to win in dominating victory.
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