South Africa carried their batting form as they scored 311 runs against the five-time champion side, Australia. Both teams modified their starting lineups from the previous game. In exchange for Alex Carey and Cameron Green, Australia brought Josh Inglis and Marcus Stoinis, while the Proteas dropped Gerald Coetzee for Tabraiz Shamsi. Australia had just lost to the hosts, India, while South Africa had just defeated Sri Lanka in a crushing victory. Here is a summary of the first innings.
Openers control the powerplay for South Africa
Quinton de Kock, the wicketkeeper, and Temba Bavuma, the captain, were unconcerned by the Australian bowlers. At the Lucknow Ekana Cricket Stadium, Mitchell Starch and Josh Hazlewood immediately found swing. Australia introduced Glenn Maxwell into the attack after just three overs from each of the two pacers. The spin-bowling all-rounder only allowed seven runs in the powerplay off of his first two overs. 53 runs were scored by De Kock and Bavuma in the first 10 overs.
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In the 13th over, Adam Zampa entered the fray and immediately proved himself effective by getting Bavuma to edge in his first over. Josh Inglis, the wicketkeeper, fumbled the catch and lost the opportunity to dismiss Bavuma for 20 runs. In contrast to the captain, who was timid with his approach despite receiving three lives from the Pat Cummins-led team, de Kock played with an offensive mentality. South Africa reached their 100-run opening stand in 17.4 overs thanks to de Kock and Bavuma, who each smashed 61 and 33 runs off 57 and 51 balls, respectively. In the previous five one-day internationals against Australia, this was South Africa’s second 100+ and fourth 50+ stand.
In the twentieth over, Maxwell ended the century partnership as David Warner eventually caught Bavuma. Bavuma was dropped by Zampa (9.1), Inglis (12.5), and Starc (15.4) before being fired. The first maiden over of the innings was bowled by Maxwell in the following over, but de Kock made up for it by hitting Hazlewood for two sixes in the following over.
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South African batters score freely in middle overs
Rassie van der Dussen and de Kock appeared to pose a threat to the Australians once more, as they had in the previous game against the Sri Lankan team. Van van Dussen became the second player to reach 2000 runs in ODIs the quickest. The South African batter and Babar Azam, Kevin Pietersen and Zaheer Abbas are tied for the spot. Van der Dussen was struck out by Zampa in the 29th over, giving him his first wicket of the competition. The South African batsman hit two fours and scored 26 runs in 30 balls.
Cummins, the captain, entered the game immediately following van der Dussen’s dismissal. When Aiden Markram entered the crease, Cummins had a chance to get rid of him on the third ball. Markram drove a full toss delivery straight to Cummins, who dropped the catch despite having his hands on the ball. De Kock scored his second consecutive century of the World Cup with a pull over square leg in the seam. De Kock became the second South African player to hit two straight hundred in World Cups with this century. In 2011, AB de Villiers was the first to accomplish this.
Cummins’ bad luck persisted as he blew the first review in his subsequent over while contesting a caught behind call made against the centurion. As Markram smacked the Australian captain for two fours in his sixth over, Cummins continued to be pricey. In his first six overs, the Australian bowler had already conceded 46 runs. By dismissing de Kock, Maxwell secured his second wicket of the game.
South African batters look set for death overs
With Heinrich Klassen and Markram on the crease and both appearing to be in perilous form, South Africa had amassed 232 runs for the cost of three wickets going into the final few overs. Maxwell, the day’s top bowler for Australia, has already completed his 10 overs with the figures of 10-1-34-2. Both batters hit two long balls at Zampa, who gave up 11 runs in the 41st over. The middle-order bats reached their 50-run partnership in 41 balls in the following over. Markram hit three straight fours against Zampa to maintain his aggressive play from the previous game. Markram needed just 41 balls to reach his half-century. In the 10 overs allotted to him, Zampa gave up 70 runs. Aiden Markram’s dismissal gave Cummins his first tournament wicket. In the subsequent over, Hazlewood removed Klassen, reducing the South African scoring rate. Poor fielding continued as Australian fielders dropped two catches in the 49th over.
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