On Tuesday, Quinton de Kock spearheaded South Africa’s powerful batting performance with a blazing score of 174, leading them to a 149-run victory over Bangladesh. This win keeps them on track for a spot in the semi-finals of the Cricket World Cup.

De Kock achieved the highest individual score of the tournament thus far and the ninth highest total in the history of the men’s World Cup. South Africa’s middle order then aggressively attacked a lackluster Bangladesh team, resulting in a total score of 382 for five at the Wankhede Stadium.

Afterwards, South Africa managed to limit Bangladesh to 58 runs for five wickets. The fast-paced attack eventually eliminated their opponents, who scored 233 runs in 46.4 overs. Despite Mahmudullah’s effort of scoring 111 runs in one ball per run, it was not sufficient to prevent a significant loss. Currently, the Proteas have won four out of their five pool-stage matches and hold the second position in the standings.

De Kock previously stated his intention to retire from one-day internationals following the World Cup in India. However, he is determined to make his final performance a noteworthy one, as he achieved his third century of the tournament.

Aiden Markram, serving as captain in the absence of the ill Temba Bavuma, won the coin toss and chose to start batting. South Africa experienced the loss of Reeza Hendricks (12) and Rassie van der Dussen (one) in back-to-back overs, but De Kock and Markram (60) worked together to stabilize the innings with a 131-run partnership. De Kock and Heinrich Klaasen proceeded to dominate the Bangladesh attack, scoring 142 runs in only 87 balls.

De Kock successfully achieved his third century out of five matches in the tournament and surpassed Virat Kohli of India as the top run-scorer. He came close to scoring a double century before getting out after hitting seven sixes and 15 fours in just 140 balls.

Bangladesh did not find any relief when the batter left, as Klaasen and David Miller kept up the aggressive play. Together, they hit 12 sixes, with Klaasen scoring 90 off of 49 balls. South Africa managed to score 144 runs in the final 10 overs, putting Bangladesh in a difficult position to catch up.

After six uneventful overs, Marco Jansen disrupted the top order of Bangladesh by dismissing Tanzid Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto in consecutive deliveries. The game was essentially decided for Bangladesh after losing their captain, Shakib Al Hasan (one), and experienced player Mushfiqur Rahim (eight) inexpensively.

Unfortunately, South Africa did not perform as efficiently against the lower order, leading to Bangladesh scoring 233 runs before being bowled out with 3.2 overs remaining. This did, however, help the Tigers move up from last place on the table based on net run rate, while England fell back to the bottom spot.

Source: theguardian.com