Australia’s World Cup hopes are hanging by a thread after they were hammered by an impressive South Africa in Lucknow.
Having been spun out by hosts India in their opening group game, Pat Cummins’s side slumped to a second successive defeat as they found no answer to another strong Proteas batting display, Quinton de Kock’s second hundred in as many matches setting a target of 312.
In reply, Marnus Labuschagne was the only recognised batter to pass 20 as Australia were skittled 134 runs short with more than nine overs to spare.
The loss leaves the five-times winners with precious little margin for error just a week into the tournament, with only the top four sides from the ten-team round-robin set to advance to the semi-finals.
Already, South Africa look serious contenders, backing up their opening game rout of Sri Lanka, in which they set a World Cup record total of 428, with a superb bowling performance as Kagiso Rabada took three wickets in a miserly eight-over spell that cost only 33 runs.
Australia, in fairness, created plenty of chances of their own with the ball but were wretched in the field, dropping five catches as De Kock’s 109 from 106 balls and Aiden Markram’s half-century were supported by consistent contributions from the rest of the order.
After a watchful start to the chase, several loose deliveries from Marco Jansen appeared to hand Australia some much-needed momentum, but the left-armer struck to remove opener Mitchell Marsh in a breakthrough that prompted a collapse of six wickets for just 43 runs.
The last of those fell in controversial fashion, Marcus Stoinis given out gloving behind by the third umpire, despite appearing to have taken the hand in question off his bat.
Labuschagne went on to top score with a pedestrian 46 from 74 balls, while Cummins and Mitchell Starc offered tail-end resistance, but Australia will now meet Sri Lanka on Monday knowing another defeat would all-but signal curtains.
