Quinton de Cock and Rassie Van der Dussen brought cricket back to prominence in South Africa amid the euphoria of the country’s epic rugby victory, and the scintillating hundreds that ensured New Zealand’s 190-run World Cup hammering here on Wednesday.
De Kock (114 off 116 balls) hit his fourth century of the tournament to equal Kumar Sangakkara who achieved the feat in the 2015 edition, while Van der Dussen hit a 118-ball 133 as South Africa racked up a magnificent 357. for four after being asked to bat first.
New Zealand were bowled out for 167 in 35.3 balls.
So far, only three batsmen have scored four or more runs in a single edition of the World Cup.
The Proteas have displaced India at the top of the points table after the win. Both are on 12 points, although India have played one game less.
David Miller smashed 53 in 30 balls to provide the final success four days after the whole country basked in the team’s fourth rugby World Cup victory in Paris where the Springboks beat arch-rivals New Zealand’s All Blacks most in sport. .
New Zealand’s response was abysmal as they lost their in-form batsmen Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra with just 45 runs on the board.
Marco Jansen (3/31) struck first with the new ball, leading the dangerous Convoy (2) to head Aiden Markram at second slip.
It was Jansen again who gave South Africa their second breakthrough as he broke the form of Ravindra (9), who went to pull a shot but went over the edge, putting the Proteas on top.
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Gerald Coetzee hit the third delivery of the innings and Will Young bowled a short length delivery outside off to give De Kock a regulation catch and leave the Kiwis reeling at 56 in the 11th over.
It was 67 for four when Kagiso Rabada sent back skipper Tom Latham in a rather soft dismissal after the batsman went for his shot too early.
From there, it was a matter of time before New Zealand’s innings wrapped up with plenty of overs to spare.
Meanwhile, left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj (4/46) bowled James Neesham with a spin that would have made the late Shane Warne proud.
Glenn Phillips delayed the inevitable with his 60 off 50 balls.
Earlier, considering dew, New Zealand’s stand-in skipper Latham opted to bowl first at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium whose stands were half-full with some people gathered outside when the inform De Kock walked and the skipper Temba Bavuma out. to bat
However, the dew was not a factor as South Africa were too good for their opponents who suffered their third defeat in the tournament in seven outings. For the Proteas, it was their sixth win in seven games, the margin of victory making their current net rate world-beating.
After the dismissal of Bavuma (24), in De Kock and Van der Dussen, the South Africans had the perfect duo to set the tone, and they did just that with a 200-run partnership in just over 30 overs.
Driving on the luck with one of his shots falling in nobody’s land, De Kock stood outside off Mitchell Santner and lofted the left-arm spinner over the long-on boundary for a six.
Van der Dussen also got into the act and looked comfortable as he piled up his run.
Dealing with two set batsmen was not the only challenge for the Kiwis as they also had injured players, the last thing for a team already dealing with injuries to key players going into this game.
After Matt Henry injured his right hamstring and received treatment, Jimmy Nesham also had some injury problems.
Meanwhile, luck also smiled on Van der Dussen as he got more than one relief en route to a century.
First, De Kock reached his first style, smashing Neesham on the side for a maximum. Soon, Van der Dussen got his ton with four.
Batting on 104 off 105 balls, Van der Dussen shifted gears and launched into Neesham for two consecutive sixes, the first thanks to Trent Boult putting the ball over the ropes in an attempt arrest her.
Van der Dussen then bowled Tim Southee for a maximum over long-on.
By the time De Kock and Van der Dussen were dismissed, they had done enough to set South Africa’s target of 350.
Then, Miller produced a couple of big hits to spur them on towards the end.
(With agency input)
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