WC Points Table: SA Make Big Gains, Surpass New Zealand To Be Placed 2nd

Riding on Quinton de Kock's ton, some brutal late hitting from Heinrich Klaasen and bowlers' brilliance South Africa registered a massive 149-run victory over Bangladesh in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 match at the iconic Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday. The Proteas also garnered a massive net run rate boost with another emphatic win. Defiant Mahmudullah was the only batter who stood tall today for Bangladesh but his vigilant knock of 111 runs went in vain as other batters failed to score big.

Gerald Coetzee was the destructor-in-chief as he returned with a 3-wicket haul while Lizaad Williams and Marco Jansen bagged two wickets respectively.

With the win, South Africa have climbed up to the second spot in the points table. 

While chasing a whopping total of 383, a promising start to Bangladesh's reply came to an end when Tanzid Hasan (12) gloved behind a short ball from Marco Jansen.

Jansen then strangled Najmul Hossain Shanto along the leg side on the next delivery.

Bangladesh's chase lay in tatters as three wickets fell in the space of an eight-ball blitz during the first powerplay.

The all-rounder fell short of a hat-trick when his attempted yorker was converted into an easily defended full ball, but Lizaad Williams kept the wickets coming by dismissing Shakib Al Hasan (1). The wickets continued to fall as Gerald Coetzee dismissed Mushfiqur Rahim for 8.

Litton Das' valiant battle came to an end when he was caught leg-before by Kagiso Rabada for a 44-ball 22. Keshav Maharaj joined the wicket-taking frenzy when he caught Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the deep for 11, ending Bangladesh's pursuit before it had even begun.

With a superb knock from number six, Mahmudullah restored Bangladesh's pride and helped his team avoid a record defeat. In a pressure run chase, Mahmudullah brought up his 67-ball World Cup fifty with Bangladesh seven wickets down.

Bangladesh veteran Mahmudullah slammed his fourth one-day international hundred; his third in ODI World Cups. With the help of the tail, Mahmudullah reached his own personal milestone with a high-class century against South Africa's weary attack, coming off 104 balls.

Bangladesh did have reason to celebrate at the finish when Mahmudullah hit a century and the fans cheered in encouragement. However, the centurion's exit ignited a string of quick wickets as South Africa won by 149 runs.

Earlier, a 20th ODI hundred from de Kock and some brutal hitting from Klaasen guided South Africa to a huge first-innings total of 382/5. De Kock finished with the second-highest World Cup score by a South African batter, while Klaasen was also at his savage best to give the Proteas a resounding total. A mind-boggling 217 runs were scored in the final 20 overs, with 144 coming in the final 60 deliveries.

Brief score: South Africa 382/5 (Quinton de Kock 174, Heinrich Klaasen 90; Hasan Mahmud 2-67) vs Bangladesh 233 (Mahmudullah 111, Litton Das 22; Gerald Coetzee 3-62).

from NDTV Sports-Cricket
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