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Australia had to make hard work of chasing 119 to beat South Africa in a tense opening game of Super 12s at the 2021 T20 World Cup on Saturday.
Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade added an unbeaten 40 as Australia won by five wickets with two balls to spare in Abu Dhabi.
Steve Smith made 34-ball 35 after Australia lost their top three batsmen for just 38 runs.
South Africa earlier laboured to 118/9, with Aiden Markram (40) being the top scorer. For Australia, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa and Mitchell Starc bagged two wickets apiece.
Quinton de Kock’s dismissal caught the attention of fans
During South Africa’s innings, the dismissal of their opening batter Quinton de Kock caught the attention of fans, with some terming it as the ‘strangest dismissal of the tournament’.
It all happened on the first ball of the fifth over. Facing Hazlewood, whose figures read 1/1 after his first over, De Kock got inside the line of the ball and tried to ramp it over fine leg. However, the ball rushed onto his thigh pads, missing the bat and ballooned up. After bouncing, the ball soon went to hit the stumps.
Moreover, upon watching the replay, it seems that De Kock had lost sight of the ball, and therefore he attempted to run. The southpaw did not try to stop the ball from hitting his stumps.
Relive the moment here:
— Kumar Sourav (@AdamDhoni1) October 24, 2021
i have just seen quinton de kock’s dismissal…words? i have none
— paige (@paigecaunce) October 23, 2021
Little South African supporter got furious after Quinton De Kock's dismissal. pic.twitter.com/jYjrYuFkri
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 23, 2021
Strangest dismissal of the tournament candidate already and we are only in the first match of the tournament. Poor Quinton de Kock 😅🏏 #T20WorldCup #AUSvSA pic.twitter.com/QJ01h2cPPU
— James (@Surreycricfan) October 23, 2021
