IMAGE: South Africa will hope their bowlers fire again against the Netherlands on Tuesday. {Photography}: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
South Africa are making quite the World Cup announcement, playing entertaining cricket and plundering tons of runs as they steamroll rival teams.
As the Proteas take on the Netherlands in Dharamsala on Tuesday, the perennial underachievers and ‘chokers’ have in the last two matches shown their determination to roam the tournament space.
Their 102-run win over Sri Lanka in the first match in New Delhi after setting a record 428/5 on the board, followed by a 134-run win over five-time champions Australia in Lucknow, made the South Africa the team to beat in the competition.
From remaining under the radar ahead of the ODI showpiece to becoming top players, the Proteas have started playing to their full potential and are heavy favorites against the Dutch.
Unlike the Australian and English cricket teams, whose inconsistent performances so far have left much to be desired, the South Africans have proven themselves to be blessed with well-rounded fighting skills – with players like stalwart wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock, the first-order hitter. Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram make a huge impression.
IMAGE: Quinton de Kock hit 100 from 84 balls against Sri Lanka in their first match and followed it up with 109 from 106 against Australia on Thursday to help South Africa to two emphatic victories at the World Cup in progress. {Photography}: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
The trio smashed a century each against Sri Lanka to rack up a mountain of runs with Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller playing useful cameos in the tally of 428 runs.
Although their bowlers were beaten by the Sri Lankans, they fought back with full pressure against the Australians in the next match.
A second consecutive century from De Kock and a vastly improved performance from high pace bowlers Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada floored Pat Cummins’ side.
The 177-point defeat for the five-time champions following the humiliating…
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