Proteas win battle of run-feast as game ends with 754 runs
Player of the match Aiden Markram smashed the fastest century in a World Cup, 106 off 54 deliveries - AFP
Losing key bowlers to injuries and an erratic batting unit contributed to Sri Lanka’s thumping 102-run defeat in their opening World Cup fixture against South Africa at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi yesterday.
Sri Lanka’s makeshift bowling unit endured a day of horror as they were placed under brutal assault by the South African batters before
Sri Lanka’s ever-inconsistent batting unit crumbled under pressure to begin their World Cup campaign on a devastating low. They were bowled out for 326 runs, chasing a record total of 429 to win.
Sri Lanka had to scrape the barrel to cobble together a bowling unit after injuries kept star spinner Wanindu Hasaranga and seamer Dushmantha Chameera out of the World Cup and their inexperience bowling in tough conditions was well and truly exposed by conceding a record total.
With Maheesh Theekshana also being ruled out of yesterday’s game due to fitness concerns, it was left to the young brigade of Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka and Dunith Wellalage to bite the bullet in a challenging environment.
A total of 429 was looked beyond
Sri Lanka’s reach even before they began their chase but their timidity in handling the pressure was hard to comprehend.
After skipper Dasun Shanaka invited the South Africa to take the first lease of the wicket in terrific batting conditions, the men in green took the Sri Lankan bowlers to the cleaners to register a World Cup record total of 428 for the loss of five wickets, also the ninth highest total in all ODIs. The previous highest of 417 was scored by Australia against Afghanistan at the 2015 World Cup.
Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram lit up the game with powerful centuries. The latter hit the fastest World Cup ton off 49 balls as they feasted on the inexperienced bowling
Sri Lankan attack. Markram’s first 50 came from 34 balls while he needed only 15 more deliveries to add the next 50.
The Proteas reached 206 after the loss of Temba Bavuma’s wicket by the 30th over before a late onslaught brought them 222 more runs, rewriting World Cup history. They were tested briefly between the third and 10th over as Sri Lankan seamers Kasun Rajitha and Dilshan Madushanka pulled back their lengths to keep the free-scoring
South African batters calm and quiet.
Despite losing skipper Bavuma in the 10th ball in their innings, South African batters showed great intent, making 27 runs off the first three overs but were contained by the two Sri Lankan seamers, leaking just 21 runs off the next seven overs.
South Africa were 48 for 1 by the 10th over–and that was the only control
Sri Lankans enjoyed in the field.
De Kock, playing his last ODI tournament in South African colours, reached his maiden World Cup ton, facing 83 balls. It was his 18th career century and he shared 204 runs off 174 balls for the second wicket with der Dussen, who made his fifth ODI century off 103 balls. Both batted with aplomb but their effort was overshadowed by Markram’s swashbuckling 106 off 54 balls.
The 29-year-old eclipsed Ireland batter Kevin O’Brien’s 50-ball century against England in a 2011 World Cup match and, more importantly, got their side into a state of complete control. South African batters hit 45 boundaries and 14 sixes (264 runs in boundaries) in their run feast.
Sri Lanka, with a towering mountain climb were in the chase at times with Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka hitting quick-fire half centuries but regular wickets hurt them deeply.
After Marco Jansen cleaned up Pathum Nissanka, with his first delivery of the innings, Kusal Mendis, after successfully appealing for a leg-before decision of the first ball, reached his 50 off just 25 balls. He hit a flurry of sixes that put the South Africans under some pressure. But once he was felled for his aggression off Kagiso Rabada for 76 off 42, even the little hope Sri Lanka had to reduce the margin of defeat diminished. Kusal Perera, Sadeera Samarawickrema and Dhananjaya de Silva departed all too quickly as South African bowlers hit back at regular intervals to hurt
Sri Lanka’s chase.
Charith Asalanka survived twice on either side of his half-century (on 44 and 52) off drop catches to top-score with 79 off 65 balls with eight boundaries and two sixes while Shanaka, who has endured a tough year with the bat, scored his first half century (68) in 17 innings before Sri Lanka were bowled out in the penultimate bowl of the 45th over. Sri Lanka hit 29 boundaries and 17 sixes as both teams hit 73 boundaries and 31 sixes, a world cup record. A total of 754 runs were scored in the 94.5 overs bowled in the game.
| Scoreboard | |
| South Africa Quinton de Kock c de Silva b Pathirana 100 (Considerably short delivery, pulls and finds a top edge, caught at mid-on) Temba Bavuma lbw b Madushanka 08 (Length delivery, tries to flick, misses and hits on the pad, over the knee-roll) Rassie van der Dussen c Samarawickrama b Wellalage 108 (Comes down the track and attempts to hit over long on, well anticipated catch) Aiden Markram c Rajitha b Madushanka 106 (Low, full toss around the off, drives, caught at long off) Heinrich Klaasen c Shanaka b Rajitha 32 (Offcutter, full and wide, plays across, easy catch) David Miller not out 39 Marco Jansen not out 12 Extras (lb1, nb1, w21) 23 Total (5 wickets; 50 overs) 428 Did not bat: Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Bavuma, 1.4ov), 2-214 (de Kock, 30.4ov), 3-264 (van der Dussen, 37.1ov), 4-342 (Klaasen, 43.1ov), 5-383 (Markram, 47.1ov) Bowling: Kasun Rajitha 10-1-90-1, Dilshan Madushanka 10-0-86-2, Dasun Shanaka 6-0-36-0, Dhananjaya de Silva 4-0-39-0, Matheesha Pathirana 10-0-95-1, Dunith Wellalage 10-0-81-1 Sri Lanka Pathum Nissanka b Jansen 00 (Good length on the off, batter tails back, ball cuts in to touch the top of middle stump) Kusal Perera b Jansen 07 (Speedy and length delivery, coming back in, beats batter completely to hit the middle stump) Kusal Mendis c Klaasen b Rabada 76 (Back of a length, slightly outside off, looks to cut, but finds an edge to slip) Sadeera Samarawickrama c Jansen b Coetzee 23 (Back of a length delivery, plays early on the onside, caught brilliantly at mid on) Charith Asalanka c Hendricks b Ngidi 79 (Pace off, full outside off, hits it over point, fielder gets it on the run) Dhananjaya de Silva c Phehlukwayo b Maharaj 11 (Length outside off, extra bounce, spins a bit, batter cuts, but caught at backward point) Dasun Shanaka b Maharaj 68 (Fullish delivery, comes into the pad, batter tries to block, but is beaten on the inside edge) Dunith Wellalage c Klaasen b Coetzee 00 (Lengthy delivery, nicks through to the wicketkeeper for an easy catch) Kasun Rajitha c Markram b Coetzee 33 (Slower delivery, batter makes room and pulls, caught at deep mid-wicket) Matheesha Pathirana b Rabada 05 (Cross seamer, makes room to hit it over wide long on, ball lands around and hits off stump) Dilshan Madushanka not out 04 Extras (lb5, nb1, w14) 20 Total (all out; 44.5 overs) 326 Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Nissanka, 1.1ov), 2-67 (Perera, 7.5ov), 3-109 (Mendis, 12.4ov), 4-111 (Samarawickrama, 13.2ov), 5-150 (de Silva, 20.1ov), 6-232 (Asalanka, 31.6ov), 7-233 (Wellalage, 32.2ov), 8-291 (Shanaka, 39.4ov), 9-322 (Rajitha, 43.4ov), 10-326 (Pathirana, 44.5ov) Bowling: Lungi Ngidi 8-1-49-1, Marco Jansen 10-092-2, Kagiso Rabada 7.5-0-50-2, Keshav Maharaj 10-0-62-2, Gerald Coetzee 9-0-68-3 |