World Cup: Red-hot Maharaj, Jansen flatten Kiwis, hand Proteas 190-run victory

Quinton de Kock and Rassie Van der Dussen brought cricket back to prominence in South Africa amid the euphoria over the countrys epic triumph in rugby their scintillating hundreds ensuring a 190run hammering of New Zealand in the ICC World Cup 2023 on WednesdayDe Kock 114 off 116 balls hit his fourth century of the tournament to go level with Kumar Sangakkara who achieved the feat in the 2015 edition while Van der Dussen blazed away to a 118ball 133 as South Africa racked up an imposing 357 for four after being asked to bat firstNew Zealand were bowled out for 167 in 353 oversSo far only three batters have scored four or more centuries in a single edition of World CupThe Proteas have displaced India at the top of the points table following the win Both are on 12 points though India have played one game lessDavid Miller blasted 53 in 30 balls to provide the final flourish four days after the whole country was basking in the rugby teams record fourth World Cup triumph in Paris where the Springboks beat New Zealands All Blacks their biggest rivals in the sportNew Zealands reply was horrendous as they lost their inform batters Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra with just 45 runs on the boardMarco Jansen 331 struck the first blow with the new ball getting the dangerous Conway 2 to edge one to Aiden Markram at second slipIt was Jansen again who gave South Africa the second breakthrough as he dismissed the inform Ravindra 9 who went for a pull shot but ended up topedging it putting the Proteas on topAlso ReadFortune favours the lsquoBluersquoGerald Coetzee struck with his third delivery of the spell as Will Young poked at a shortofalength delivery outside off to give De Kock a regulation catch and leave the Kiwis reeling at 56 for three in the 11th overIt became 67 for four when Kagiso Rabada sent back skipper Tom Latham in a rather soft dismissal after the batter went for his shot too earlyFrom there it was a matter of time before the New Zealand innings folded with plenty of overs remainingMeanwhile leftarm spinner Keshav Maharaj 446 bowled James Neesham with a turner that would make the late Shane Warne proudGlenn Phillips delayed the inevitable with his 60 off 50 ballsEarlier taking dew into account New Zealands standin skipper Latham opted to bowl first at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium whose stands were halffull with some people gathered outside when the inform De Kock and skipper Temba Bavuma walked out to batHowever dew was not a factor as South Africa proved to be too good for their opponents who suffered their third defeat of the tournament in seven outings For the Proteas it was their sixth win in seven matches the margin of victory doing their net run rate a world of goodAfter Bavumas 24 dismissal in De Kock and Van der Dussen the South Africans had the perfect duo to set the tone and they did exactly that with a 200run partnership in little over 30 oversRiding on a bit of luck with one of his shots falling in a no mans land De Kock stepped outside against Mitchell Santner and hoisted the seasoned leftarm spinner over the longon boundary for a sixVan der Dussen too got into the act and looked comfortable while accumulating his runsDealing with two set batters was not the only challenge for the Kiwis as they also had players getting injured the last thing for a team that was already grappling with injuries to key players heading into this matchAfter Matt Henry hurt his right hamstring and received treatment Jimmy Nesham also had some injury issuesMeanwhile luck also smiled on Van der Dussen as he got more than one reprieve on way to his centuryFirst De Kock reached his hundred in style smashing Neesham on the onside for a maximum Soon Van der Dussen got to his ton with a fourBatting on 104 off 105 balls Van der Dussen shifted gears and launched into Neesham for two consecutive sixes the first one was thanks to Trent Boult tipping the ball over the ropes while trying to catch itThen Van der Dussen carted Tim Southee for a maximum over longonBy the time De Kock and Van der Dussen were dismissed they had done enough for South Africa to aim for 350Then Miller produced a few big hits to prop them up towards the endWith agency inputs