South Africa registers comfortable victory

Photo: foxsportsasia.com

It was an easy win in the end for the South Africans as they beat local rivals Zimbabwe by 62 runs at Hamilton in New Zealand. The Proteans rode on to massive tons from David Miller and JP Duminy to make their first impression in the current edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Batting first South Africa posted a total of 339/4 in their quota of 50 overs thanks to some incredible hitting from David Miller and Jean Paul Duminy. It seems that it was a total one-sided affair. However that’s not case for Zimbabwe had the Proteans in real trouble almost for the half of the first innings but towards the end just succumbed to the class of Miller and Duminy. After 20.3 overs South Africa was down and out having lost 4 wickets with just 83 runs on the board. All the big names including that of AB De Villiers, Hashim Amla and Faf Du Plessis were back o the pavilion and it was up to Miller and Duminy to take the attack to the opposition. And how well they did their job! They set up a record 5^th wicket partnership and took the total to 339 runs. Miller scored 158 runs off just 92 balls as he hit 9 sixes and 7 fours. Duminy was a bit more watchful and scored 115 off 100 balls hitting 3 sixes and 9 boundaries. In the last 6 overs they managed 111 runs and the game was all but over by then.

Photo: sportinglife.com

Zimbabwe came on to bat and did keep the chase alive, thanks to some good batting performance from Hamilton Masakadza who top scored for the Zimbabweans with 80 runs. But they never looked like chasing it down especially against the likes of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander. Steyn was really off colour today as he went for plenty and just managed to pick up one wicket. Imran Tahir was the pick of the South African bowlers as he picked up 3 wickets giving away just 36 runs in his full quota of 10 overs. In the end it was a defeat for the South Africans which they thoroughly deserved.

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About Argha Ghosh

An ardent follower of sports and die-hard Manchester United fan, Argha's ultimate dream is to watch a Manchester derby from the Stretford End at the Old Trafford.