Record-Breaking Hashim Amla, South Africa Rout Ireland and More from Day 18
South Africa have done it again. After surpassing 400 and hammering the West Indies in Sydney last week, the Proteas repeated the feat and dealt out a similar thrashing to Ireland at the Cricket World Cup in Canberra on Tuesday.
Led by superb centuries from Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis, the South Africans gave the Irish a severe reminder of the gap between the world's elite and its Associate nations following Ireland's opening victories over the West Indies and the United Arab Emirates.
Combining ingenuity and brutality, AB de Villiers' side stormed to 259 for one inside 40 overs thanks to the 247-run stand between Amla and Du Plessis.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
De Villiers (24), David Miller (46 not out) and Rilee Rossouw (61 not out) then compounded Ireland's woe, as all three operated at strike rates of 200 or more to deliver a stunning onslaught across the last 10 overs.
By the end of the ordeal, Ireland's target was 412—a chase that, if it seemed unlikely initially, was effectively over after 10 overs. Dale Steyn and Kyle Abbott rocked the men in green to reduce them to 48 for five.
From there, the Irish scrapped their way to 210 all out to suffer a massive 201-run loss in the Australian capital.
South Africa's Record-Breaking Day
It was quite a day for South Africa at Manuka Oval, as they smashed record after record. Here's a list of Tuesday's achievements, per ESPN Cricinfo:
- By reaching his 20th one-day international century, Amla became the fastest man to 20 ODI hundreds (111 matches, 108 innings), surpassing Virat Kohli's benchmark (141 matches, 133 innings).
- By surpassing 400 for the fifth time, South Africa now sit level with India for the most 400-plus scores in ODIs.
- In winning by 201 runs, the Proteas now hold the record for most World Cup wins by 200 runs or more with five.
- After reaching 400 against the West Indies, South Africa have become the first country with two 400-plus scores at the World Cup and the first team with back-to-back scores of 400 or more in ODIs.
Shot of the Day
As you can imagine, glorious strikes were a feature of South Africa's innings at Manuka Oval.
But as good as some of the shots from Miller, Du Plessis and Rossouw were, nothing could beat Amla's consecutive blows down the ground off Max Sorensen in the 24th over.
The first: a colossal thump over mid-on.
The second: a gorgeous lofted drive over the mid-off fence.
Delivery of the Day
There were two candidates on Tuesday that we couldn't split, both from South Africans.
The first, from Steyn, is almost unplayable:
The second, from De Villiers, makes it in here for the simple fact that he's a wicketkeeper who took a wicket:
Catch of the Day
Faultless all afternoon with the bat, Amla showed off more skills in the field against Ireland, claiming this catch in his armpit after Niall O'Brien had edged Abbott to slip:
Pool B
| India | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +2.630 |
| South Africa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +1.950 |
| West Indies | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.313 |
| Ireland | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -1.137 |
| Zimbabwe | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.723 |
| Pakistan | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1.373 |
| United Arab Emirates | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.326 |
Reaction
Wednesday's Schedule
Wednesday at the Cricket World Cup will see matches on both sides of the Tasman.
In Napier in New Zealand, Pakistan will take on the United Arab Emirates in Pool B, while hosts Australia will meet Afghanistan in Pool A at the WACA Ground in Perth looking to atone for last weekend's low-scoring defeat to New Zealand in Auckland.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
