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Following his side's 134-run win over Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup, South African wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock said that the team assessed the conditions beautifully and as per his experience of playing for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) here in the Indian Premier League (IPL), it becomes hard batting second in Lucknow's Ekana Cricket Stadium.
De Kock's second successive century in WC set-up the victory for South Africa as they handed Australia a 134-run loss, their biggest-ever in WC history, at Lucknow on Thursday. "It was a great win for the boys, to be honest, we did not know how the pitch would play, we assessed the conditions beautifully and then applied ourselves well with the bat. The guys who spent time on the wicket, got a hand on the conditions and then used their scoring options. 311 was an above-par score, I have played here for the Lucknow team (in the IPL), it becomes harder to bat second. The wicket does change a bit. It was sweaty and humid, the bowlers were on top of their game, no real loose balls and they picked early wickets. I think we are keen to prove ourselves, we played well, but it is just 2 games, the World Cup is a long tournament and games come quickly around, we will take it on a match-by-match basis," said de Kock in a post-match presentation. Coming to the match, Australia opted to field first. Quinton de Kock (109 in 106 balls, eight fours and five sixes) smashed his second successive WC ton. Aiden Markram (56 in 44 balls, seven fours and a six) and skipper Temba Bavuma (35 in 55 balls, two fours) also played some solid knocks to power SA ti 311/7 in 50 overs. Glenn Maxwell (2/34) and Mitchell Starc (2/53) got two wickets. Also, skipper Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Adam Zampa got a wicket each. In the chase of 312, Australia sunk to 70/6 initially, with Kagiso Rabada (3/33) and Keshav Maharaj (2/30) wreaking havoc. A partnership of 69 runs between Marnus Labuschagne (46 in 74 balls, three fours) and Mitchell Starc (27 in 51 balls, three fours) helped the Aussies cross the 100-run mark, but they were bundled out for 177 in 40.5 overs, registering a 134-run loss, their biggest in WC history. Tabraiz Shamsi (2/38) and Marco Jansen (2/54) were also great with the ball. Lungi Ngidi got one wicket. Now, SA is at the top with two wins in two games and four points. Australia is in the ninth spot, having lost both games. De Kock got the 'Player of the Match' award for his ton. (ANI)
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