CWC2023:South Africa won by 134 runs against Australia

Delhi: In the ICC World Cup, South Africa secured a resounding 134-run victory over Australia. Australia, having won the toss, opted to bat first in their second match of the ICC World Cup 2023. Pat Cummins, the captain, introduced two alterations to his lineup, with Marcus Stoinis substituting Cameron Green, and Josh Inglis stepping in for Alex Carey.

Despite a sluggish beginning, the Proteas managed to surpass the 300-run mark, primarily due to Quinton de Kock’s powerful innings. De Kock notched his 19th ODI century, the third against Australia, and notably, it was his second consecutive ODI century in the World Cup. While the Proteas experienced some wicket losses after a steady start, Aiden Markram played a pivotal role in accelerating the run rate, also achieving a half-century with 56 runs. Ultimately, the Proteas set a target of 312 runs for the Kangaroos to chase.

For Australia, Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell took two wickets each, while, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa took one each. 

This was also Aussies biggest defeat by runs in ODI World Cups. It marked the first instance since 1992 where the five-time champion suffered consecutive losses at the start of a World Cup campaign, first against India in Chennai.

Australia which has only lost 25 of its 96 World Cup matches went down to New Zealand and South Africa in successive matches during the 1992 World Cup.

For the records, Australia had also lost its first two games in the 1983 World Cup (against India and West Indies) and the 1979 World Cup in England.

However, the history of the game also suggests that at one point they were unbeaten for 34 consecutive matches between 1999 and 2011.