Cricket

'Daniel Alexander kaha ho?' - Fans react as South Africa trash Sri Lanka by 102 runs in a high scoring contest in ODI World Cup 2023

Batting first, South Africa lost Temba Bavuma early. But the duo of De Kock and Van Der Dussen steadied the ship for South Africa. The dynamic duo added 204 runs for the second wicket and became re3sponsible for the revival of the South African innings.

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Mathew K
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South Africa vs Sri Lanka

SA vs Sri Lanka. (Source: Twitter)

South Africa won their first match of the ODI World Cup 2023 and started their campaign on a good note. On a good batting surface in Delhi, South Africa made the best use of the conditions and broke several records against Sri Lanka. The Asian team had no answer with the ball against the African side. As a result, South Africa claimed a 102-run win in the match. 

Batting first, South Africa lost Temba Bavuma early. But the duo of De Kock and Van Der Dussen steadied the ship for South Africa. The dynamic duo added 204 runs for the second wicket and became responsible for the revival of the South African innings. The two batters scored a hundred respectively. While Van der Dussen scored 108(11), De Kock scored a quick 100(84).  

But the star of the show was the South African captain. Aiden Markram smashed the record for the fastest World Cup ton in just 49 balls. The knock of Markram helped South Africa to a mammoth score of 428 runs. Along with Markram’s 106(54), Miller and Klaasen played crucial cameos. The collective efforts of the South African batters put Sri Lanka in the backfoot straightaway.  

Sri Lankan batters give tough fight for South Africa

Chasing 429, Sri Lanka lost two early wickets. While Pathum Nissanka was dismissed in the second over, Kusal Perera was undone in the 8th over. But Kusal Mendis played a scintillating knock with the bat. In the powerplay overs, Mendis hit a whopping 8 sixes and damaged the South African batting. But he was dismissed against the run of play.  

Sadeera Samarawickrama and Dhananjaya De Silva could not do much. Dunith Wellalage came in and came out for a golden duck on his World Cup debut. Charith Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka tried their best to win the match for the Sri Lankan team. But the target of 429 runs was a bit too high for a spirited side like Sri Lanka. But they managed to score 326 runs in 44.5 overs, which is a commendable effort.  

Look at how the fans have reacted:

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