Pune, 1 November 2023 (WAI): South Africa won against New Zealand by 190 runs while playing at the Maharashtra Cricket Association in Pune, India, in the 32nd match of the ICC World Cup 2023.
The Proteas improved their net run rate (NRR) to 2.09, moving them ahead of India at the top of the World Cup points table with 12 points.
The Black Caps were overwhelmed by the in-form Proteas in every aspect of the game, with some of their key hitters failing to reach double figures.
Glenn Phillips led his team in scoring with 60 runs as he stood till the finish, while Will Young came in second with 33 runs, but nothing was enough in front of the gigantic 358-run objective.
Rachin Ravindra, the Black Caps’ final hope after reaching 116 in a nail-biter against Australia, fell victim to Marco Jansen after scoring only nine runs.
New Zealand continued to lose wickets till they were all out for 167 runs. Keshav Maharaj took four, Jenses took three, and Gerald Coetzee took two.
Temba Bavuma batted first and gave his team a good start, but Trent Boult caught him after reaching 24 runs.
After their skipper was gone, however, Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen created a 200-run combination, with the former making 114 runs, his fourth century of the World Cup.
Surpassing the great Sri Lankan wicketkeeper batter, who hit 543 runs in the 2015 World Cup, De Kock continued his incredible form, scoring 545 runs in seven innings to become the wicketkeeper batter with the most runs in a single World Cup edition.
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Dussen also hit 133 runs off 118 balls, with nine fours and five sixes to assist the Proteas going close to the mammoth total.
Following the departure of the two batsmen, it was David Miller who played a quick knock, hitting 53 off 30 balls with six boundaries, propelling the Proteas to a competitive total of 357 runs, which the Black Caps were unable to chase.
The New Zealand bowlers were powerless against batsmen from the opposite team.
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