It was another day, another run feast for South Africa!
At the Wankhede Stadium on October 24, it rode on Quinton de Kock’s 174 and a blitzkrieg 90 from Heinrich Klassen to plunder 144 off the last ten overs, and put up a mammoth 382 for five, before handing a 149-run defeat to Bangladesh and bolster its chances of a last-four spot in the World Cup.
Had it not been for Mahmadullah (111, 111b, 11x4, 4x6) waging a lone battle after the Proteas’ pace attack took the fizz out of the chase, Bangladesh wouldn’t have reached 233.
The seasoned batter delayed the inevitable with a few big hits and forged a 68-run partnership for the ninth wicket with Mustafizur Rahman. But for a side that was reeling at 58 for 5 in 15 overs after Marco Jansen jolted its top-order, Mahmadullah’s efforts were not enough to avoid the fourth defeat on the trot.
The day, however, belonged to de Kock.
Featuring in his 150th ODI, he became the sixth batter to score three hundreds in a single edition of the tournament and also overtook Virat Kohli as the highest run-getter (407).
Banking on his experience of playing at the iconic venue during his long stint with Mumbai Indians, de Kock guided his team to becoming the first side to register three 350-plus scores in a single World Cup edition.
A couple of days ago, it hammered 143 runs in its last ten overs against England, and on a rather flat deck, South Africa extended its tally by a run against Bangladesh, despite wobbling at 36 for 2 inside eight overs.
Early on, Bangladesh showed intent as Shoriful Islam made good use of the new ball and castled Reeza Hendricks, while Rassie van der Dussen was trapped leg before by Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
However, the joy was short-lived as de Kock rebuilt with stand-in captain Aiden Markram (60, 69b, 7x4) and forged a 131-run partnership for the third wicket. The two got into the groove, played shots at will, adding to Bangladesh’s woes.
By the time, Markram mistimed a Shakib delivery and lofted it down to Litton Das at long-off, the foundation was laid for the middle-order to take things forward. Coming into the game from his assault against England, Klaasen hit Shakib for a six, and there was no looking back for him.
As the surface aided the batters, Klaasen continued his carnage - hitting Hasan Mahmud for a boundary and a six - and shortly after de Kock reached his century, both the batters sent Bangladesh bowlers on a leather hunt.
When a ‘tired’ de Kock finally departed amid standing ovation, South Africa needed to put the final touches to its innings and David Miller lived up to the expectations with a 14-ball-34.
Scoreboard
South Africa Innings: Quinton De Kock c Ahmed b Mahmud 174 Reeza Hendricks b Islam 12 Rassie van der Dussen lbw Miraz 1 Aiden Markram c Das b Shakib 60 Heinrich Klaasen c Mahmudullah b Mahmud 90 David Miller not out 34 Marco Jansen not out 1 Extras (LB-3, W-7) 10
Total (For Five Wickets In 50 overs) 382
Fall of Wickets: 1-33, 2-36, 3-167, 4-309, 5-374.
Bangladesh bowling: Mustafizur Rahman 9-0-76-0, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 9-0-44-1, Shoriful Islam 9-0-76-1, Shakib Al Hasan 9-0-69-1, Hasan Mahmud 6-0-67-2, Nasum Ahmed 5-0-27-0, Mahmudullah 3-0-20-0.
Bangladesh innings: Tanzid Hasan c Klaasen b Jansen 12 Litton Das lbw Rabada 22 Najmul Shanto c Klaasen b Jansen 0 Shakib Al Hasan c Klaasen b Williams 1 Mushfiqur Rahim c sub b Coetzee 8 Mahmudullah c Jansen b Coetzee 111 Mehidy Hasan Miraz c sub b Maharaj 11 Nasum Ahmed c&b Coetzee 19 Hasan Mahmud c Coetzee v Rabada 15 Mustafizur Rahman c Miller b Williams 11 Shoriful Islam (not out) 6 Extras (LB-2, NB-2, W-13) 17
Total (all out in 46.4 overs) 233
Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-30, 3-31, 4-42, 5-58, 6-81, 7-122, 8-159, 9-227.
South Africa bowling: Marco Jansen 8-0-39-2, Lizaad Williams 8.4-1-56-2, Gerald Coetzee 10-0-62-3, Kagiso Rabada 10-1-42-2, Keshav Maharaj 10-0-32-1.
