Proteas have time and again proven. They are at their best batting first. The emphatic triumph over New Zealand of 190 runs is going to help the cause.
Clean striker of the ball, Quinton de cock hit his 4th century in the tournament. He has now surpassed the all-time great “Jack Kallis” in scoring highest runs in a single world cup edition.
Just the pure elegance with which de cock is batting right now is mesmerizing. He has declared that this world cup is going to be his last. I really hope he doesn’t take his word seriously on this matter. There’s a lot of cricket left in the guy.
The red soil pitch of Wankhede, is a test for the openers to weather the storm. Trent boult and Tim Southe are experienced bowlers in the line up. They restricted the free flow on runs in the start. De cock was at 17 of 28 deliveries.
Read about the Biggest Upset in World Cup History.
In the interview, de cock said “It was difficult for me to find my rhythm at the start. It was a quality bowling attack that didn’t gave me much room either”.
After the win, South Africa has assured their position into the knockout matches. The next face off with India at Eden Garden will be crucial. The undefeated team in the World Cup until now is India.
New Zealand at 133/9, knew taking the game deep and scoring as much run as possible will prove effective in Net Run-Rate. The last wicket partnership of 34 runs was important from that perspective. Matt Henry either defended or ran for the single at the end of the over.
In the 2019 World Cup, the Kiwis made into the semis at the 4th position in the points table. Pakistan at the 5th position also had the same amount of points. Better NRR, proved useful for the Kiwis.
Rassie van der Dussen is lethal to opposition with the temperament and power hitting capability. Dussen scored his 6th century in his ODI career and hit his 2nd century in the tournament. The number 3 batsmen for the proteas averages around 55.67 currently in ODI format.
The clash of Titans at the Eden gardens will be a litmus test for both the side.
