In what turned out to be a high-scoring World Cup game in Delhi, South Africa prevailed over Sri Lanka by a sizeable margin of 102 runs.
In great conditions for batting, it was South Africa’s collective might in this department that proved to be the difference. Quinton Deck (100), Rassie van der Dussen (108) and Aiden Markram (106) cracked hundreds. It turned out to be only the fourth such instance of three batters doing so in the same innings in an ODI. Markram also composed the fastest hundred (49 balls) in 50-over World Cup history.
The only time Sri Lanka seemed to be ahead in the game was when Temba Bavuma fell leg-before to an in-swinger from Dilshan Madushanka. That little bit of swing upfront soon felt like an oasis in the desert as De Kock and Van der Dussen played a flurry of shots. The highlight of the early exchanges was a couple of drives essayed through the extra-cover region by De Kock.
With De Kock and Van der Dussen cracking a volley of shots, Dasun Shanaka was forced to introduce spinners in the 11th over. However, Dhananjaya de Silva and Dunith Wellalage were also put to the sword, as the batting duo brought out lofted shots and sweeps. To make matters worse for Sri Lanka, Pathum Nissanka fluffed a tough chance at backward point to give Van der Dussen a reprieve.
Ultimately, in the 31st over, De Kock top-edged a pull to Dhananjaya off Matheesha Pathirana’s well-directed short ball. Unfortunately for the island nation, there was more misery in store as Markram pressed the accelerator pedal, smacking Dilshan Madushanka for three boundaries. Heinrich Klaasen, who replaced Van der Dussen, also joined the fun, thumping Wellalage for two sixes in a row.
In the 43rd over, Markram touched a different zone, as he collected three boundaries and a six off Pathirana. The way he tonked a wide yorker over extra-cover was a highlight of his stroke-play. He soon reached his hundred in style, with a six off Madushanka. David Miller, who replaced Klaasen, also made an impact (39) as South Africa ended up with 428 on the board – the highest score in ODI World Cups.
In the chase, Kusal Mendis matched Markram’s stroke-play and compiled a breezy 76. He mainly targeted areas behind square on the on-side. Charith Asalanka (79) had his share of the rub of the green, while Shanaka (68) returned to some kind of form. Sri Lanka, though, needed a couple of batters to convert those fifties into hundreds. In the 45th over, Kagiso Rabada provided the final touches to the match by cleaning up Pathirana.
Gerald Coetzee was the best bowler on show, bagging three wickets. The young seamer was deceptively fast. Marco Jansen, Rabada and Keshav Maharaj got two scalps each. Jansen went for 92 runs from his 10 overs, but it has to be said that a couple of chances were put down off his bowling. The South African pace bowlers extracted some lift from a track that offered more bounce than expected. The only slight concern for South Africa would be all those fluffed chances. Otherwise, it was a near-perfect game for the Proteas.