Quinton de Kock’s Quintessential Century Power South Africa To Glory

The 2023 edition of the Men’s ODI World Cup has become a run-making bonanza for South Africans. At Mumbai’s iconic Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, opener-wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock displayed his exemplary batting skills with class and explosive elegance by scoring a splendid century, scoring a mammoth 174 runs in just 140 balls. De Kock hit a staggering fifteen 4s and seven 6s in the process.

South African skipper Aiden Markram won the toss and rightfully decided to bat first on the high-scoring Mumbai track. But it was Quinton’s day to shine as he featured in his 150th ODI match and became the sixth batter in the tournament’s history to score 3 hundreds in a single edition. De Kock(407 runs) also overtook Virat Kohli(354 runs) as the highest run scorer of the tournament.

But de Kock wasn’t the only one who had the fun, skipper Markram and middle order batter Heinrich Klaasen decided to join the party, scoring 60(69 balls) and 90 runs(49 balls) respectively. Finisher David Miller provided the finishing touches by scoring a quickfire 34 runs in just 15 deliveries. The South African squad put up a staggering 144-run stand in the last 10 overs, posting a total of 382 runs by the end of the first innings.

The Bangladeshi response was a big letdown for the scores of Bangladeshi fans who had come to support their team. The only saving grace was veteran Mahmadullah’s(111 in 111 balls, 11x4s, 4x6s) lone battle with the Rainbow Nation’s bowling attack as he went on to score a commendable century.

But the South African bowling attack was too harsh for the Tigers and was curtailed for 233 runs in 46.4 overs. Jansen(8-0-39-2), Williams(8.4-1-56-2), Coetzee(10-0-62-3), Rabada(10-1-42-2) and spinner Maharaj(10-0-32-1) helped clean up the Bangladesh batting line up. 

South Africa won by a huge margin of 149 runs giving a big boost to their net run rate which has helped them to elevate their position to number two on the points table, after India. Quinton de Kock was adjudged as the Player-of-the-Match.

Here’s the latest look at the points table after Tuesday’s match: