Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma made a strong start for South Africa. They had a partnership of 108 runs, which boosted South Africa’s position, and the Australian bowlers struggled to take wickets.
Bavuma got two chances to be dismissed, but Glenn Maxwell eventually got him out. However, Quinton de Kock played remarkably and scored a century to keep South Africa in a strong position. He completed his second consecutive century by hitting a six. He hit 8 fours and 5 sixes in just 90 balls, which put Australia in a tough spot.
Australia, after losing their first match to India, was facing South Africa in Lucknow today. In their first match, South Africa scored a record 428 runs against Sri Lanka. Australia won the toss and chose to bowl first. Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma started cautiously and managed to put up 53 runs in the first 10 overs.
In the 13th over, Bavuma (19) got caught by wicketkeeper Josh Inglis off Adam Zampa’s delivery. Bavuma managed to hit a boundary off Marcus Stoinis in the 16th over. He attempted a pool shot but was dropped by Mitchell Starc on the boundary, giving him another chance.
Glenn Maxwell provided the first breakthrough for Australia when he dismissed Temba Bavuma for 35. Quinton de Kock played a scoop shot for a six off Josh Hazlewood and followed it up with another six. He was later joined by van der Deusen, who contributed 26 runs before getting caught while trying to hit Zampa’s delivery.
With his performance in this ODI World Cup, Quinton de Kock surpassed Pakistan’s Imam-ul-Haq (46 innings) to become the fastest to reach 2000 runs in the tournament.
Quinton completed his century in just 90 balls, becoming the second highest scorer (19) among South African openers in ODIs. He surpassed Herschel Gibbs (18) and now matches Hashim Amla (27). This is his second century in a World Cup tournament, putting him on par with Amla, Faf du Plessis, and Gibbs. Quinton also broke AB de Villiers’ record of 107* by an African wicketkeeper in a World Cup, with his score of 108+.
