uinton de Kock delivered a remarkable performance with the bat, amassing 174 runs in his third century of the World Cup. This impressive display led South Africa to a resounding victory over Bangladesh by a margin of 149 runs in their match held in Mumbai on Tuesday.
South Africa initially found themselves in a precarious position at 36-2 after winning the toss, but they regrouped vigorously, scoring 144 runs in the final 10 overs to conclude their innings at 382-5, marked by a flurry of boundaries.
Bangladesh faced a daunting target they could hardly pursue, ultimately collapsing to 58-5. Their total of 233 was primarily salvaged by Mahmudullah’s run-a-ball century.
By the time the 37-year-old veteran Mahmudullah reached his fourth one-day international century in 195 innings, the match had already lost its competitive edge, with no other Bangladeshi batsman managing to score more than 22 runs.
South Africa has now triumphed in four of their first five World Cup matches, with the only setback being a surprising loss to the Netherlands. In contrast, Bangladesh is struggling to secure a spot in the semi-finals after suffering four defeats in five games, positioning themselves at the bottom of the 10-team group.
An early double breakthrough initially offered Bangladesh some hope of securing their fourth win in five ODIs against South Africa. However, Quinton de Kock, the left-handed opener, responded with his third century in five World Cup innings, following his scores of 100 and 109 against Sri Lanka and Australia. This remarkable start to the tournament comes as he has stated that it will be his final major one-day event at the age of 30.
Heinrich Klaasen then contributed significantly with a quickfire 90, just days after his 109-run performance in South Africa’s 229-run victory over reigning champions England at Wankhede on the preceding Saturday.
Quinton de Kock, the man of the match, commented, “I am a bit more tired than satisfied. Everyone did their part, and it is nice to get another two points on the board.”
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Regarding Klaasen, he added, “He has been amazing, I need some of the juice he is having! He has been really special this year, and long may it carry on.”
The Bangladesh bowling attack, consisting of seven players, struggled, with pacemen Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam conceding 76 runs each in their nine-over spells. Even fit-again Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan, participating in his fifth World Cup, could not escape, giving away 1-69 in nine overs.
Shakib reflected, “I thought we bowled well for the first 25 overs, got three wickets, and they were going at five runs an over. Then they kicked on, I thought Quinton de Kock batted really well, and the way Heinrich Klaasen finished it off, we didn’t have any answers to it.”
South Africa’s left-arm fast bowler Marco Jansen then took two quick wickets in two balls, and Shakib narrowly escaped a hat-trick.
Shakib, a star all-rounder, managed to score only one run before being caught by wicketkeeper Klaasen, who filled in for the cramp-affected De Kock. Bangladesh found themselves in a dire situation at 31-3 within eight overs and eventually stumbled to 58-5.
Mahmudullah, who was dropped on 75 when a back-pedaling Lizaad Williams missed a challenging chance in the deep, delayed the inevitable defeat with his 111 runs, which included 11 fours and four sixes.
In the earlier stages of the match, Aiden Markram, leading South Africa in place of the injured regular captain Temba Bavuma, opted to bat first after winning the toss. This decision was in line with South Africa’s previous successful outing, where they had scored a massive 399-7 after being asked to bat by England.
South Africa faced some early setbacks when Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen fell in quick succession. However, Markram played an elegant innings, contributing 60 runs and forming a crucial third-wicket partnership of 131 runs with De Kock before he was dismissed by Shakib.
Despite Markram’s departure, De Kock continued to dominate and came close to becoming only the third batsman to achieve a double century in a World Cup match. However, he was caught at deep backward point while attempting a big shot off Hasan Mahmud. De Kock faced a total of 140 balls, including 15 fours and seven sixes, showcasing a blend of elegant strokeplay and sheer power.
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Klaasen maintained the pressure on Bangladesh, hitting eight sixes in his 49-ball innings before eventually getting dismissed in the last over.