South Africa brushed aside the disappointments of the washout against Zimbabwe a couple of days ago by putting in a grand performance against Bangladesh in their T20 World Cup Super 12 Group 2 match at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday.
The charge was led by Rilee Rossouw and Quinton de Kock after South Africa lost captain Temba Bavuma early in the first over to Taskin Ahmed.
It was the third over of the South Africa innings that started to turn the match towards South Africa. Taskin bowled a couple of no-balls and de Kock hit him for a six and got the momentum. Rossouw joined him soon after and the attacking left-handers started to maximise the powerplay. They reached 63/1 at the end of the first six overs.
Another change in momentum came in the 11th over when Shakib Al Hasan was hit for 21 runs. Rossouw hit the Bangladesh captain for two sixes and a four.
Rossouw was the first to get to his half-century off 30 balls and he was soon joined by de Kock. The duo continued their onslaught against the Bangladesh bowlers, hitting them to all parts. In the process, de Kock and Rossouw registered the highest partnership for any wicket in the history of the T20 World Cup. Their 168-run partnership broke the long-standing record of Sri Lankan legends Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene who had put on 166 runs for the second wicket against West Indies in the 2010 World Cup.
South Africa’s record for the highest partnership in T20 World Cup was with Herschelle Gibbs and Justin Kemp who had put on 120* in the inaugural edition in 2007.
The duo sent the ball to the fence 14 times and 11 times over it. However, de Kock’s innings was brought to an end in the 15th over.
With new batter Tristan Stubbs departing soon after and Rossouw inching towards his century, the Proteas’ innings slowed down a bit.
Once Rossouw’s century came off 52 balls he sent the ball for a towering six before Shakib put an end to the scintillating innings. Russouw, who registered the highest score by a South African in a T20 World Cup, also became the only batter from a full-member team to hit back-to-back T20I hundreds. This was also the first instance of any South African batter smashing a hundred in a T20 World Cup match.
On course for a 220-230 score at one point, South Africa lost momentum in the death overs on a two-paced wicket and just about managed to cross the 200-run mark. They ended up with 205/5, which is the highest score of this World Cup so far.
Source: Hindustan Times
