Proteas show no mercy to the hapless Dutch
It turned out to be a perfect outing for South Africa as they hammered the Netherlands by 231 runs to notch up their second win in the World Cup. Ashutosh Sharma reports. Scoreboard
It turned out to be a perfect outing for South Africa as they hammered the Netherlands by 231 runs to notch up their second win in the World Cup.
Chasing 352 for victory was always going to be tough for the Netherlands. But they couldn't put up even a semblance of a fight, and were bundled out for just 120. South Africa's new find Imran Tahir picked up three wickets in two overs to mop up the tail to bring the lopsided contest to an early finish.
The Netherlands openers handled Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel without much discomfort, but Jacques Kallis, introduced in the sixth over, provided the breakthrough with a sharp return catch off Alexei Kervezee.
That wicket opened the floodgates, and eventually they fell far too short of the target. Opener Wesley Barresi made a fighting 44, but found no support at the other end, with the last six batsmen falling for just 20 runs.
Earlier, Hashim Amla and AB De Villiers, who occupy the top two rungs in the ICC's ODI rankings, shared a 221-run partnership to help South Africa overcome a slow start and post a formidable total of 351.
De Villiers (134) started from where he had left against the West Indies, and coasted to his second century. Amla, on the other hand, wasn't as fluent but still managed to score 113 off 130 balls. De Villiers started watchfully, nudging the balls into gaps for quick singles.
But once he was set, he gave huge thrust to the innings, plundering boundaries and sixes on will. Later, JP Duminy's 15-ball 40 cameo, including four sixes, saw the team go past 350-run mark.
Smith worried about Ireland
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