Against New Zealand, who almost chased 388 in their previous game, will 357 be sufficient? South Africa provided a comprehensive response to the query, winning in Pune by a margin of 190 runs. Temba Bavuma’s team improved to 12 points from 7 games with this victory, their fourth straight, and has almost secured their place in the ICC World Cup 2023 semi-final.
South Africa was set up for a very respectable score by the hundreds of Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen, but the bowlers eventually picked up the pieces and bowled New Zealand out for 167. Keshav Maharaj contributed three wickets, while Marco Janesh finished with four.
It was both South Africa’s largest-ever ODI victory over New Zealand and the Black Caps’ fifth-heaviest ODI loss.
It was inevitable that the run-chase under the lights would be difficult, and it was. With his extra bounce on the Pune surface, Marco Jansen troubled the batsmen throughout his opening delivery, scoring twice. After Devon Conway stumbled and fell slightly behind, Rachin Ravindra was knocked out with a fine leg. In the opening PowerPlay of this World Cup, the 23-year-old became the bowler with the most wickets taken by Jansen of any player.
New Zealand was already behind the eight-ball at 45/2 when Kagiso Rabada joined the attack in the tenth over. After Gerald Coetzee replaced Jansen on his end, he removed Will Young in his opening over. Rabada then took over after the drinks break, holding the ball for a short while and catching Tom Latham at cover.
Around this point, Keshav Maharaj assumed control and, on his third delivery, struck, catching Daryl Mitchell at long off. After Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner was bowled at a score of 110/8. Amidst all of this, Janse came back for a new spell and explained the situation with Tim Southee lbw.
Although Glenn Phillips’ sixty-off-for score was entertaining, his wicket ended the innings, and New Zealand never seemed to be pursuing the target. This year, it was South Africa’s seventh time in a row over 300 runs when batting first. Ultimately, it resulted in their tenth victory in eleven games this season when they batted first.