Table of Contents
South Africa are running riot in the ODI World Cup 2023 with their back-to-back stellar performances. In their recent encounter, the Proteas inflicted a crushing defeat to New Zealand in Match 32 of the ongoing tournament.
The victory took the Temba Bavuma-led side to the top of the points table, further solidifying their bid for the playoffs in the multi nation event.
South Africa’s dominance over New Zealand
New Zealand won the toss and opted to field first. The South African innings kicked off cautiously, with openers Bavuma and Quinton de Kock forming a steady partnership of 38 runs for the first wicket. However, Bavuma got dismissed for 24 runs, disrupting their momentum.
What followed was a stunning display of batting, with De Kock and Rassie van der Dussen orchestrating an incredible partnership, amassing 200 runs for the second wicket. De Kock shone with a remarkable century, scoring 114 runs, while van der Dussen played a stellar innings, notching up 133 runs off 118 balls. David Miller‘s quickfire 53 off 30 balls propelled South Africa to a massive score of 357 runs in 50 overs.
In the run-chase, the Black Caps struggled as speedsters Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi wreaked havoc with the new ball. Jansen picked up two wickets in the first powerplay. While Kagiso Rabada dismissed their skipper Tom Latham, spinner Keshav Maharaj‘s combined efforts with pacers broke the Kiwis’ backbone.
Glenn Phillips fought valiantly, scoring a fifty, but his side fell short of their target, getting bowled out for just 167 in 35.3 overs. Maharaj was the standout bowler for South Africa with four wickets, while Jansen and Coetzee took three and two wickets, respectively.
Also READ: South Africa cricket icon AB de Villiers names his two favourite teams to win the ODI World Cup 2023
Keshav Maharaj’s phenomenal delivery sends James Neesham packing
The moment unfolded during the fourth delivery of the 27th over when Maharaj delivered a length ball that initially landed outside the off-stump and proceeded to veer significantly, ultimately knocking over the stumps of James Neesham.
The left-handed batter attempted to move down the pitch and play the ball from within the line but was unsuccessful in countering the ball.
