KOLKATA: The already-qualified Proteas missed the chance to overtake hosts India at the top of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 table after slumping to a heavy 243-run defeat at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.
Asked to bowl first, South Africa, who had already assured their spot in the semi-finals by winning six out of their previous games, conceded 326 for five after a 49th One-Day International (ODI) hundred by Virat Kohli.
The former India captain, celebrating his 35th birthday, hit an unbeaten 101 (10 fours) and received fine support from Shreyas Iyer (77 off 87 balls, 7 fours, 2 sixes) on what was a tricky pitch to bat.
The Proteas never got going in their reply and slipped to 83 every out in 27.1 overs – their lowest ever total against the Indians.
Although it was a disappointing outcome, Rob Walter and his team still maintain time to regroup with one more league game against Afghanistan in Ahmedabad to advance on Friday before the knockouts initiate on 15 November.
And they will want to place this game firmly behind them on what was a forgettable evening in Kolkata.
The home side made a flying start after winning the toss, racing away to 62 for none inside six overs thanks to skipper Rohit Sharma’s 40 off 24 balls.
The excellent Keshav Maharaj (1/30) and Kagiso Rabada (1/48) then managed to wrestle back a degree of control, although failure to seize too many wickets meant the opposition were well placed heading to the final 10 overs.
This after Iyer and Kohli assign on 134 together for the second wicket to grasp their side to 227 for two in the 37th.
Even though Lungi Ngidi (1/63) removed the former, the expensive Marco Jansen (1/94) took out KL Rahul (8) and Tabraiz Shamsi (1/72) had Suryakumar Yadav (22) caught behind, Ravindra Jadeja’s explosive 29* off 15 powered India well beyond 300.
Kohli too played his role and along the way became international cricket’s joint-top century maker alongside his legendary countryman Sachin Tendulkar.
The vociferous home crowd then only grew louder as the Proteas struggled from the outset to post their lowest total against their hosts, beating the 99 they fell for in Delhi a miniature over a year ago.
They failed to deal with the impressive seam bowling trio of Mohammed Siraj (1/11), Mohammed Shami (2/18) and Jasprit Bumrah (0/14), before spinner Jadeja’s five for 33 rolled the South Africans over with more than 20 overs to spare.
The in-form Quinton de Kock, the tournament’s leading run-scorer, was first to depart, chopping on from Siraj for five, before Jadeja bowled captain Temba Bavuma for 11.
Shami then accounted for two more of the form players, Aiden Markram (9) and Rassie van der Dussen (13) either side of Jadeja trapping Heinrich Klaasen (1) leg before wicket.
It was 40 for five at that stage and the game effectively over as a contest. The last of the recognised batters in David Miller (11) and Jansen (14) failed to produce much of an impact either, with the tail following on what turned out to be a disappointing evening for the Proteas.
Source: cricket.co.za
Dean Elgar: Cricketer Dean Elgar started out well, leading the South African Under-19 World Cup team in 2006, and became the captain of the South African national team in 2021. He is regarded as a pillar for the South African middle order and is known for his stability.
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Sport Trivia: Which South African who played between 1949 and 1960 was named a Wisden Cricketer of the year in 1956? Answer: Hugh Tayfield. Hugh Tayfield once bowled 137 consecutive dot balls in a 1956/57 Test match against England which was held in Durban. Statistics for bowlers who acquire played 20 or more tests note that Hugh Tayfield conceded only 1.64 runs per over during his test career.
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Rugby is also a very popular sport in South Africa and their national team, the Springboks, has performed particularly well in the international stage taking the 1995, 2007 and 2019 Rugby World Cups. There is also a fair amount of world-class Rugby players from South Africa that includes Bryan Habana, Danie Craven, Francois Pienaar, Frik du Preez, Joost van der Westhuizen, and Naas Botha. South Africa has also hosted quite a few international sports meetings like the 1996 African Cup of Nations, 2003 Cricket World Cup, as well as the 2007 World Twenty20 Championship.