South Africa have thrashed New Zealand by a 257 runs in their ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 face-off at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune on Wednesday. In a match in which South Africa domianted throughout, centuries from Quinton de Kock (114 off 116) and Rassie van der Dussen (133 off 118) coupled with a 30-ball 53 from David Miller first helped the Proteas post 357/4 in their quota of 50 overs before Keshav Maharaj (4/64) and Marco Jansen (3/31) helped them bowl the Kiwis out for 167.
The Kiwis won the toss and elected to field first but the plan clearly backfire against a team which has done remarkably well batting first in the competition. They did no harm to their reputation even in this fixture and appeared to go through the gears in exactly the fashion they would have liked. While the Proteas breached the 200-run mark in 36 overs, in the next 14 overs, the managed to add another 157.
Injury Concerns Mount For New Zealand In World Cup 2023
The Blackcaps were hurt by futher injury issues. Matt Henry, one of New Zealand's best performers with the ball in World Cup 2023, was forced to leave the field with a hamstring injury and could not even complete the over he had started. He bowled 5.3 overs with his over having to be completed by Jimmy Neesham who too sustained an injury. With the bat in hand, Glenn Phillips played a lone hand and scored a half-century but only managed to reduce the margin of their defeat, more than anything else.
South Africa's thumping win in this match has levelled them on points with India but a better net run rate (NRR) means they have even managed to displace the hosts from the top of the World Cup 2023 points table even though the Men in Blue are yet to lose a game. The Proteas though have played a match extra. The defeat has made the road tougher for the Kiwis who remain at 8 points after 7 matches and have now slipped to the fourth position on the table.