Rilee Rossouw yesterday posted the first century of the T20 World Cup tournament, plundering 109 from 56 deliveries to help South Africa to an emphatic 104-run win over Bangladesh.
After a couple of early delays for rain, South Africa batted first and posted 205-5. Rossouw and Quinton de Kock combined for 163 runs off 81 balls for the second wicket in a South Africa record T20 World Cup partnership.
The Proteas then skittled Bangladesh for 101, with Anrich Nortje picking up 4-10 and Tabraiz Shamsi returning 3-20.
Photo: AP
“Clinical in terms of performance,” South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said. “The batting lineup has shaped up quite nicely.”
While Rossouw and De Kock were batting a total well in excess of 200 looked likely, but South Africa’s innings stalled near the end.
Moreover, they benefitted from five penalty runs awarded because Bangladesh wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan moved from his position on a free hit.
Photo: AFP
Rossouw struck seven fours and eight sixes, raising his century off only 52 balls.
De Kock scored 50 off 33 balls and was eventually out for 63 off 38, with seven fours and three sixes.
South Africa’s hectic pace of scoring meant they were 170-2 in 14.3 overs at De Kock’s dismissal, but from there they lost four wickets for 35 runs.
Bangladesh got off to a quickfire start via Soumya Sarkar (15) and Najmul Shanto (9), who added 26 off 13 balls, but things went downhill thereafter.
Nortje removed both openers in his first over, the third of the innings, and Bangladesh were reduced to 47-4 at the end of powerplay.
He also trapped Shakib Al Hasan (1) LBW to give South Africa control of the match.
Only four Bangladesh batsmen reached double figures, with Liton Das top scoring with 34.
Shakib said that Rossouw and De Kock took the game away from his bowlers.
South Africa (3 points) moved to the top of Group 2 temporarily with three points from two games.
Their first super 12 game against Zimbabwe in Hobart was washed out.
However, India (4 points) beat the Netherlands by 56 runs in yesterday’s second match at the Sydney Cricket Ground to retake top spot.
Bavuma said he was initially “a bit nervous” when the rain started again yesterday and played was halted after 5.3 overs, with South Africa on 65-1, but the match resumed after a 30-minute delay and no overs were lost.
Virat Kohli smashed a second successive half-century as India thrashed the Netherlands.
India headed into the clash on the back of their thrilling last-ball triumph over Pakistan in Melbourne at the weekend, in which Kohli also starred with the bat.
They brought some of that energy to a boisterous Sydney Cricket Ground to plunder 179-2 before holding the spirited Netherlands to 123-9 in front of 36,000 fans.
Kohli (62 not out) and skipper Rohit Sharma (53) were both in fine touch, sharing in a 73-run stand.
Suryakumar Yadav was also in the runs, lashing 51 from 25 balls.
In other Group B action yesterday, Pakistan failed chasing Zimbabwe’s 130-8 in Perth. The match finished right on press time last night, Pakistan making 129-8.
Additional reporting by staff writer
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
DAY OF BLOWOUTS: Elsewhere, the Lakers clinched the third seed in the Western Conference with a 140-109 pounding of the under-strength Houston Rockets The Denver Nuggets on Friday improved their playoff position, with a triple double from Nikola Jokic helping them to a 117-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Serbian put up 26 points, 13 assists and 16 rebounds. The triple-double performance, his 34th this season, ensured that he will finish the regular season as just the third NBA player to average a triple double across an entire season. The win meant the Nuggets improved to 49-32 on the season and gave them a real chance of grabbing fourth place and home-court advantage in the playoffs. Aaron Gordon top scored with 33 points for Denver,
RSS