It was an incredible team performance from the Proteas in their Cricket World Cup opener against Sri Lanka on Saturday, but performances from Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen and Quinton de Kock stood out.
The Proteas produced a stunning performance to beat Sri Lanka by 102 runs in their ICC Cricket World Cup opener in Delhi on Saturday.
Here are our five plays of the day…
De Kock-Van Der Dussen Partnership
This was South Africa’s most important partnership. A big part of the victory was due to a master-class from Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen.
While playing with caution early on in their innings, they combined for a double-century stand for the second wicket, with both batters reaching three figures for the first time in World Cups.
This partnership set a solid foundation for the middle-order to accelerate.
Aiden Markram’s Onslaught
Markram truly brought carnage upon Sri Lanka with a century off just 49 deliveries, a knock that included three sixes and 14 fours.
And he did it with proper cricket shots – cover drives, straight drives and a reverse scoop off fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka.
Importantly, he helped South Africa set a new world record – the highest ever total in Cricket World Cup history. It was this knock that took the match well beyond Sri Lankan’s reach.
The Finish
The finishing with bat in hand was just as impressive from the middle-to-lower-order. Heinrich Klaasen chipped in with a 20-ball 32, David Miller followed with an unbeaten 39 off 21, while Marco Jansen added a valuable 12 not out off seven balls.
Miller and Jansen smashed 45 off the last 17 balls of the innings, pushing South Africa from 383/5 to a daunting 428/5.
Removing Kusal Mendis
Kusal Mendis was a thorn to South Africa’s quest of starting the tournament on a positive note. Despite the mammoth target set by South Africa, Mendis inflicted fear with a knock of 76 off 42 deliveries.
The Proteas needed someone who was going to stand up to an in-form batter, and captain Temba Bavuma called upon Kagiso Rabada to rightfully step into his responsibility of leading the attack.
After being taken apart for two sixes by Mendis, Rabada finally got his man, swaying the momentum back in South Africa’s favour.
Jansen-Ngidi New-Ball Pairing
Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi look like a fearsome new-ball pair, purely because of their height and the right-arm-left-arm combination that troubles top-order batters.
On Saturday, though, they received a humbling lesson that in World Cups, the margin for error is next to zero as Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis got stuck in.
But what was encouraging from both bowlers was the speeds they generated with the new ball.
They were bowling at over 140km/h consistently, doing exactly what any captain would ask of his new-ball attack.
