South Africa defeated England by 229 runs in World Cup Image: X/ICC
South Africa got back to winning ways dealing England a crushing defeat by 229 runs in the second International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2023 match on Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
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Having won the toss, England put South Africa to bat first, which turned out to be a fatal mistake. Even as England managed to send Quinton de Kock back cheaply, the Proteas never backed down with fellow opener Reeza Hendricks scoring 85 runs before perishing. Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram added more important runs before a blitzkrieg by Heinrich Klaasen saw him score 109 off just 67 balls, supported by Marco Jansen’s 75 runs, meant England had a tough task at their hands as they prepared for the chase.
Images from the match Image: X/ICC
For England, Reece Topley picked three wickets, while Adil Rashid and Gus Atkinson picked two each. Mark Wood proved to be the costliest, shipping away 76 runs in seven overs.
England’s woes on the night and the overall tournament continued as the batters failed miserably. England were reduced to 100 for eight, showing no signs of being the defending champions as the batters went one after the other. South African pacers ran through the top and middle order before the tail-enders in Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson paired to add some runs on the board, which were ultimately well below the required runs to win.
South Africa picked up the massive win to get back to winning ways after their shock defeat to the Netherlands. Gerald Coetzee got three wickets, while Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen got two each. Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj also got a wicket each to round off the huge win. With this, South Africa moved to third on the table and England dropped down to ninth. Sri Lanka also benefited from the result climbing a spot by virtue of NRR.