World Cup 2023, SA vs AUS: De Kock’s Scintillating Ton Powers Proteas to 134-Run Victory Over Australia

Lucknow: Australia suffered its second consecutive loss in the ODI World Cup 2023. South Africa defeated Australia by 134 runs in a match played on Thursday in Lucknow. In this match, South Africa set a target of 311 runs for Australia, losing 7 wickets in the allotted 50 overs. After that, the Australian team was bowled out for just 177 runs in 40.5 overs.

Australia’s pursuit of a daunting target of 312 runs got off to a very poor start. They lost their first wicket in the very first over when Marko Jansen dismissed Mitchell Marsh for 7 runs. Jansen had Marsh caught by Temba Bavuma. After that, wickets kept falling continuously, and Australia’s half-team returned to the pavilion with only 65 runs on the board. David Warner contributed 13 runs, Steve Smith scored 19, wicketkeeper Josh Inglis managed 5, and Glenn Maxwell added just 3 runs.

Australia received their sixth blow when Marcus Stoinis (5) was dismissed by Kagiso Rabada. There was a controversy over this dismissal, but after the decision of the third umpire, Stoinis had to return to the pavilion. After that, Marnus Labuschagne (46) formed a 69-run partnership for the 7th wicket with Mitchell Starc (27). This partnership was broken by Marko Jansen when he had Starc caught behind by Quinton de Kock. Then Labuschagne also returned to the pavilion on the fourth ball of the 35th over, caught by Temba Bavuma off Keshav Maharaj’s delivery. Labuschagne scored 46 runs with the help of 3 boundaries on 74 balls.

Before this, South Africa’s star opener Quinton de Kock scored a century. Opening the innings, De Kock scored a century in 90 balls. He completed his century with a six. De Kock scored 109 runs off 106 balls before returning to the pavilion. He hit 8 fours and 5 sixes in his innings. In addition to this, Aiden Markram scored 56 runs, becoming the top scorer for South Africa. For Australia, Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell took 2 wickets each, while Josh Hazlewood, captain Pat Cummins, and Adam Zampa took 1 wicket each.

Brief scores: South Africa 311 for 7 in 50 overs (Quinton de Kock 109, Aiden Markram 56; Glenn Maxwell 2 for 34; Mitchell Starc 2 for 53) beat Australia 177 all out in 40.5 overs (Marnus Labuschagne 46; Kagiso Rabada 3/33) by 134 runs.