What a great start by the South African team in this tournament. A pure domination in the batting and broke many records of the World Cup. They beat Sri Lanka by 102 runs.
Proteas scored 428/5 in 50 overs and in reply Lankans posted 326/10 in 44.5 overs.
After winning the toss, Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka opted to bowl first.
After losing their skipper Temba Bavuma (8 runs), Proteas were looking in some different roles today. Three upcoming batters Quinton de Kock (100 runs), Rassie van der Dussen (108 runs) and Aiden Markram (106 runs) scored centuries. Equally the record for most centuries in a single innings in an ODI.
De Kock and van der Dussen built a 204 runs partnership for the 2nd wicket. De Kock played 84 balls and hit 12 fours and 3 sixes in his inning. Whereas van der Dussen played 110 balls and hit 13 fours and 2 sixes in his inning. After that Markram came and blew away the Lankan bowlers with his hard hitting. He scored the fastest century in the World Cup and took only 49 balls to set the record. He hit 14 fours and 3 sixes in his knock.
Also some destruction was shown by David Miller (39 runs) in the end and took the team score to 428 runs which is the highest team score in the World Cup. They played for 50 overs and lost 5 wickets.
Sri Lanka’s bowlers might feel helpless in front of the destructive batting shown by the Proteas. Dilshan Madushanka took 2 wickets while Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana and Dunith Wellalage got 1 wicket each.
As the target was much higher than they expected but still the Lankan batters tried their best to reach there but unfortunately they couldn’t. Some hard hitting shown by Kusal Mendis (76 runs). He outplayed every bowler he faced and showed no mercy as he took only 42 balls. Also he hit 4 fours and 8 sixes in his merciless hitting.
Some more powerful knocks shown by the middle order batsman. Charith Asalanka (79 runs) was the highest scorer from their side in this match. He was dropped earlier but utilized it much longer. He played 65 balls and hit 8 fours and 4 sixes in his knock. Skipper Dasun Shanaka (68 runs) showed some good hands with the bat and hit 6 fours and 3 sixes in his inning. Lastly Kasun Rajitha (33 runs) also tried some good shots in the death overs. At last they managed 326 runs in 44.5 overs by losing all the wickets.
South Africa were good in the fielding but they dropped some easy catches which should be rectified otherwise it might cost them the match.
Gerald Coetzee who was the replacement of Anrich Nortje took 3 wickets in the match. Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen got 2 wickets each. Lungi Ngidi settled with 1 wicket.
Records created in this match/World Cup (WC):
| Highest score in WC | 428 runs (SA) |
| 1st time three 100s scored by a single team in the WC | SA (Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram) |
| Fastest century in the WC | Aiden Markram (49 balls) |
| Highest aggregate runs in a WC match | 754 runs (SA vs SL) |
| Most boundaries hit in an ODI WC match | 105 (SA vs SL) |
Aiden Markram, South Africa, Player of the Match
“Feels fantastic. The platform was laid beautifully by Quinny and Rassie. Gave us the freedom. Some days it comes off, some days it doesn’t. Pretty clear with what’s expected of me as a batter. Like every other team, we try to play a positive brand of cricket. Initially you want to get a feel for the wicket. Ultimately it’s about backing your options. Happy with how it worked out. The wicket played really well. The ball was travelling. Feels good to be on the positive side of things. To start well in the World Cup was important and something that we talked about.”