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Pat Cummins-led Australia’s batting lineup was once again in tatters. They never looked like they were in the hunt for the target of 312 set by South Africa, thanks to Quinton de Kock’s century. Temba Bavuma’s South Africa won the match by a comfortable margin of 134 runs. This is Australia’s biggest defeat by runs in ODI World Cup history. The previous biggest loss was against India in the 1983 World Cup by 118 runs.
Cummins won the toss and opted to bowl first. De Kock and Bavuma were cautious against the new ball. Then De Kock took the attack to the opposition. The partnership grew and crossed the 50-run mark. In the 13th over, Adam Zampa would have provided the breakthrough but Josh Inglis failed to take a straightforward catch for a wicketkeeper-batter. De Kock reached his half-century from 51 balls. Glenn Maxwell broke the partnership in the 20th over with Bavuma's wicket. The Proteas skipper went for a slog but got caught by David Warner. He scored 35 runs from 55 balls including two fours.
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Maxwell was economical but other bowlers leaked boundaries. De Kock hit Josh Hazlewood for consecutive sixes. Meanwhile, Rassie van der Dussen became the fifth-fastest to 2,000 ODI runs from 45 innings. He could not convert the start into a big score. He got caught at long-on off Zampa's bowling. He scored 26 runs from 30 balls. In the 30th over, the wicketkeeper-batter reached his century with a six. He took 90 balls to reach the milestone. Maxwell struck again to dismiss De Kock. He went for a reverse sweep but ended up getting bowled. He scored 109 runs from 106 balls including eight fours and five sixes.
South Africa reached 200 in the 36th over. Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram dominated the proceedings. Markram hit three fours in a row off Zampa to reach his half-century. Cummins came back into the attack to get Markram's wicket. He scored 56 runs from 44 balls including seven fours and a six. In the next over, Klaasen edged it to Inglis and departed for a 27-ball 29. Marco Jansen and David Miller hit boundaries in the slog overs. In the penultimate over, catches of both batters were dropped. 14 runs came from the over. In the final over, Starc dismissed both Miller and Jansen who contributed with 13-ball 17 and 22-ball 26 respectively. South Africa posted 311/7 on the board, their second-highest score against Australia in the World Cup. It was also South Africa’s fifth consecutive 300-plus total in ODIs.
Australia's run chase got off to a nervy start. Jansen leaked a few extras but he drew first blood with the wicket of Marsh for a single-digit score in the sixth over. In the next over, Lungi Ngidi got the reward for being economical. The opener departed after scoring just 13 runs. In the 10th over, Kagiso Rabada was introduced into the attack. Steve Smith hit him for two consecutive fours. Then, he got out lbw as Rabada reviewed the decision. He was shocked at the decision too but could not do anything. In his next over, Rabada got the wicket of Inglis. Keshav Maharaj did some damage as well with the wicket of Maxwell by taking a catch off his own bowling. Australia lost half their side for 65 in the 17th over.
Rabada continued to dominate and got the wicket of Marcus Stoinis who was looking to guide the ball towards fine leg. The decision caused controversy as well. Stoinis felt that it touched his glove while the bat was in another. Starc and Labuschagne tried to steady the partnership but in the process, the required run rate kept climbing up. They put on 79 runs for the seventh wicket. Jansen broke the partnership in the 34th over. The extra bounce got the better of him. He scored 27 runs from 51 balls. In the next over, Labuschagne handed an easy catch to Bavuma. He scored 46 runs from 74 balls. Cummins entertained the crowd with few hits but fell to Tabraiz Shamsi in the 41st over. He followed it up with the wicket of Hazlewood as well. Australia were bowled out for 177 and lost the match by 134 runs.
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