MM News

Quinton de Kock smashed his fourth century of the World Cup and Rassie van der Dussen also hit a ton as semi-finals-bound South Africa sealed a comprehensive 190-run victory over New Zealand on Wednesday for their sixth win in seven matches.

New Zealand was left needing a rescue act after collapsing to 90-5 inside 19 overs while chasing 358, with only Will Young (33) and Daryl Mitchell (24) offering any resistance, but South Africa did not relent and dismissed them for 167 in 35.3 overs.

Pace bowler Marco Jansen (3-31) began the rout with an early double strike, while spinner Keshav Maharaj (4-46) landed timely blows to ensure New Zealand had no way back at the MCA Stadium in Pune despite a defiant 60 by Glenn Phillips.

In a highly-anticipated contest days after the two nations clashed in the Rugby World Cup final, De Kock struck 114 and Van der Dussen exploded late on to score 133 for his second ton of the showpiece as South Africa posted 357-4.

Victory helped South Africa leapfrog India to the top of the standings while New Zealand are still in the hunt for a place in the semi-finals in fourth.

“Not our best performance,” said Latham, whose side face Pakistan next. “We were put under pressure with that massive partnership Rassie and Quinton had up top.

“At the halfway mark it was a big score but a decent surface. From a batting point of view you need partnerships. To be three, four, five down early and with our backs against the wall, we weren’t able to build those partnerships.

“Disappointing the way it panned out.”