South Africa smash World Cup records and Sri Lanka; Bangladesh register comfortable win over Afghanistan
South Africa got their World Cup off to a rollicking start by smashing a tournament-record 428/5 against Sri Lanka at Delhi on Saturday.
South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj (C) celebrates with his team captain Temba Bavuma after their victory (AFP)
Centuries by Quinton de Kock (100 off 84 balls), Rassie van der Dussen (108 off 110) and Aiden Markram (106 off 54) saw the Proteas smash the Sri Lankan bowlers all over the park. In reply, Dasun Shanaka’s side was bowled out for 326 in 44.5 overs.
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The 102-run victory will give SA’s net run-rate a big boost and that will help in the closing stages of the league. A total 754 runs were scored, a men’s ODI World Cup record, in a match that showed us that the T20 age is well and truly upon us. The 105 boundaries hit during the match was also a record in an ODI World Cup match.
The South Africans have a solid batting order, with many of them having regularly played in the Indian Premier League. And the familiarity of the conditions saw them make the most of a good batting track at the Arun Jaitley stadium.
They lost their skipper Temba Bavuma early but de Kock and van der Dussen simply tore into Kasun Rajitha (10-1-91-1) and Dilshan Madushanka (10-0-86-2) and did not let up. The two batters raised a 204-run second wicket partnership that set the tone for the massive total.
By the 30th over, SA had galloped past 200 and then it got even better for them as Markram started unwrapping the big shots on his way to the fastest century (49 balls) in World Cup history.
Markram, who was adjudged Player-of-the-Match, said: “The platform was laid beautifully by Quinny and Rassie. (It) gave us the freedom. Some days it comes off, some days it doesn’t.
He added: “Pretty clear with what’s expected of me as a batter. Like every other team, we try to play a positive brand of cricket.”
In reply, the Sri Lankans gave it a good go, but the size of the target proved to be too much to handle in the end. Kusal Mendis (76 off 42 balls), Charith Asalanka (79 off 65 balls) and Shanaka (68 off 62 balls) build on their starts but were unable to convert it into a big innings.
For South Africa, the 23-year-old fast bowler Gerald Coetzee claimed 3/68 while fellow pacers Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada and spinner Keshav Maharaj chipped in with two wickets each.
