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The South African team has become a well-oiled six-hitting machine in the World Cup 2023. The Proteas have dominated their opponents with the bat barring the match against the Netherlands. With 15 sixes against New Zealand in Pune, South Africa broke defending champions England’s record for most sixes by a team in a World Cup edition.
Eoin Morgan-led England had hit 76 sixes in the previous edition of the World Cup. Before that, West Indies batters had hit 68 sixes in the 2015 edition of the quadrennial event.
South Africa have hit 82 sixes in the ongoing edition so far. The closest team to them in this season is Australia with 61 sixes.
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South Africa started off with a six-fest against Sri Lanka in Delhi. They hit 14 sixes on a batting paradise of a wicket. Against five-time champions Australia, they managed to hit eight sixes. In the embarrassing loss to the Netherlands in a rain-curtailed affair in Dharamsala, they hit five sixes, the lowest for them in an innings this season.
They were back in business against Jos Buttler-led England with 13 sixes. The Proteas went berserk against Bangladesh hitting as many as 19 sixes. Against Pakistan, they had a narrow escape but still managed to smash eight sixes in the one-wicket win.
So far, Quinton de Kock with four centuries to his name already has hit 18 sixes in the tournament already. He is followed by Heinrich Klaasen with 17 sixes and David Miller with 14 sixes. South Africa is the only team with three batters who have hit more than 10 sixes in the World Cup 2023. Meanwhile, De Kock also broke the record for most sixes by a wicketkeeper-batter in World Cups held by Australia’s Adam Gilchrist.
With two more league games followed by the semi-final, South Africa are expected to cross the 100-sixes mark. The tally is expected to go up if they qualify for the final. They will take on hosts India in their next clash at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on November 5. In their last league game on November 10, they will face Afghanistan on a batting-friendly track at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
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