SA vs SL Highlights: Sri Lanka went down to South Africa by 102 runs. It seems like a lot but there was a lot of fight. Aiden Markram hammered a 54-ball 106 while Rassie van der Dussen and Quinton de Kock also smashed centuries to power South Africa to 428/5 in 50 overs. Sri Lanka launched a fightback in Delhi with Kusal Mendis hammering 42-ball 76 and Charith Asalanka scoring 65-ball 79. But in the end, Sri Lanka was never in the battle as they were bowled out for 326 in 44.5 overs.
Playing XIs
Sri Lanka: Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka(c), Dunith Wellalage, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha
South Africa: Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada
South Africa Innings Summary
Sent to bat, South Africa were off to a poor start with Temba Bavuma departing off Dilshan Madushanka in the second over. But it had no impact on the match. Quinton de Kock (100 off 84) and Rassie van der Dussen (108 off 110) took charge in a marathon 204-run stand.
While Quinton De Kock perished off Matheesha Pathirana quick after his century, Aiden Markam upped the ante. He raced to a 50-run stand with Rassie van der Dussen off just 39 deliveries. And then, unleashed carnage on the erring Lankan bowlers.
Aiden Markram smashed the fastest World Cup century off just 49 balls, shattering records after records. And with him, he got Heinrich Klaasen who hammered 32 off 20 balls as scorecard kept ticking. After Rassie and Klaasen departed, David Miller added his own charm in the carnage, smashing 21-ball 39 as Proteas made most of the batting heaven.
South Africa scored 164 runs in the last 13 overs with Aiden Markam departing for 106 off 54. But the damage was already done. Proteas put up 428/5 in 50 overs, shattering Australia’s record of 417 runs as the highest total in a World Cup.
For Sri Lanka, Dilshan Madushanka bagged two wickets for 86 runs.
Sri Lanka Innings summary:
It wasn’t a day for the bowlers and Sri Lanka ensured that. But they had their hiccups too. Pathum Nissanka departed in the second over off Marco Jansen. But Lankans launched a fightback with Kusal Mendis leading the charge.
Kusal Mendis hammered 42-ball 76 to give Sri Lanka a fighting chance in the mayhem. With wickets tumbling at regular intervals, Sri Lanka’s fightback seemed to go out of the window. But Charith Asalanka took charge with a fine 65-ball 79.
Dasun Shanaka who is still recovering from an elbow injury was jittery initially. However, he did launched an attack on Gerlad Coetzee, smashing him for 23 runs in the 37 overs to get his form back.
However, despite Kasun Rajitha’s heroic 33 off 31 Sri Lanka’s efforts were not enough as they were bowled out for 326 in 44.5 overs.
Gerlad Coetzee returned with 3/68 while Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj and Marco Jansen bagged two wickets each.
Match Details
South Africa vs Sri Lanka, ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023
Date & Time: Saturday, October 7, 2PM IST
Venue: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi