In the 10th match of the ICC menβs World Cup 2023, South Africa defeated five-time champions Australia by a massive margin of 134 runs. The match between one of the two best sides of the world was expected to be a high-voltage close contest. But the Proteas team completely dominated the match from the first ball to the last.
Batting first South Africa made 311 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in their 50 overs. Opening batsman Quinton De Kock and Temba Bavuma put on a partnership of 108 runs before the Proteas captain lost his wicket to Glenn Maxwell after scoring 35 runs. South African wicketkeeper batter De Kock carried on his superb innings. De Kock scored the 19th century of his ODI career. South African batters from the other side supported De Kock and gave important contributions. Quinton finally lost his wicket in the 35th over after scoring 109 runs. This was his consecutive century in the World Cup.
The middle-order batters finished the innings with contributions from Markram 56, Klaasen 29, and Miller 17 with important runs adding to the total.
Australian fielding was a big talking point in the match as Australia dropped 5 catches during the South African innings.
Chasing a total of 312 runs, Australia found themselves 70 for a loss of 6 wickets in no time, South African batters rattled Aussie top order to set the tone for an easy victory in the big match. Australian batters put on a partnership of 46 runs for the seventh wicket, trying to end the day with a better run rate at least. Eventually, the Kangaroos got all out for 177 runs.
Australia lost 2 losses in a row in this World Cup. On the other side, South Africa is looking very impressive with 2 wins in 2 matches with a good run rate.