Follow UsSouth Africa have now won both their games in the World Cup, with the latest one coming against Australia, who they thrashed by 134 runs at the Ekana Stadium, Lucknow on Thursday (October 12). Batting first, South Africa put up 311 on the board, thanks to a superb century by Quinton de Kock, who put on 108 for the first wicket with skipper Temba Bavuma (35).
Aiden Markram continued his excellent form, scoring 56 off just 44 to ensure the Proteas got a formidable total on the board. In reply, Australia were bundled out for just 177, with Kagiso Rabada leading the way with three scalps.
Speaking of their victory, Bavuma had no hesitation in saying that his side played a near-perfect game. "I do think 311 was a couple over par, probably 290-300 was par. I guess I’m glad we lost the toss because we wanted to chase as well," Bavuma said after the match.
"I was scratchy with the bat found it hard, but Quinton needs to be given credit for the way he played. I think I’d be really greedy if I said there are things we can improve. It was almost the perfect game. The bowlers bowled really well, they have been under some slap, but looking at all the phases, I think the guys really dominated."
Bavuma's counterpart Pat Cummins' side have failed to post 200 in both games, and none of their batters have managed a fifty yet. The Aussies were beaten by seven wickets by India in the first game after posting 199 in Chennai and now have suffered another big defeat in Lucknow.
"I thought Quinton batted really well, couldn’t get a breakthrough. From where they were, we were quite happy with 310, thought it was chasable. Looked like hard work out there tonight, their bowlers bowled really well, Think it nipped around a bit more under lights," Cummins said.
"If we want to be challenging in this tournament, we need to find ways of performing regardless of batting first or second. Don’t think much needs to be said tonight, everyone’s hurting, we’ll try and take a couple of days off and then make amends to come back stronger in the next one. There’s a few things we need to tidy up."
De Kock, who won the player of the match with his brilliant ton, used his knowledge of the conditions following his stint with the Indian Premier League (IPL) side Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) that helped him.
"It was a great win for the boys, to be honest, we didn't know how the pitch would play, we assessed the conditions beautifully and then applied ourselves well with the bat. The guys who spent time on the wicket got a hand on the conditions and then used their scoring options," the southpaw said.
"311 was an above-par score, I have played here for the Lucknow team, and it becomes harder to bat second. The wicket does change a bit. It was sweaty and humid; the bowlers were on top of their game, no real loose balls, and they picked early wickets.
"I think we are keen to prove ourselves, we played well, but it's just two games; the World Cup is a long tournament, and games come quickly around, we will take it on a match-by-match basis."
Australia take on Sri Lanka in their next game here in Lucknow, while South Africa play Netherlands in Dharamsala on Tuesday (October 17).