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Belligerent performances from Keshav Maharaj and Marco Jansen against New Zealand helped South Africa hand a mammoth 190-run victory.
Earlier, Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen obliterated the Kiwis at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Wednesday. South Africa was bolstered by Marco Jansen's twin wicket in the opening Powerplay, and Kagiso Rabada and Gerald Coetzee then kept up the good work with scalps of their own. Keshav Maharaj struck in his opening over and removed the reliable Daryl Mitchell, finishing with a figure of 4-46 ensuring the spinners had their say. South Africa moved to the top of the World Cup 2023 points table with a thumping 190-run victory in Pune. Meanwhile, New Zealand's NRR took a big hit as they slid below Australia into fourth. Chasing a target of 358, New Zealand tried their best to go for quick runs but lost Conway pretty early to a sharp catch from Aiden Markram. Rachin Ravindra and Will Young attempted to spread their arms and run fast. However, in the ninth over, Jansen struck once more, this time getting Ravindra caught at fine leg. The middle-order hitters for New Zealand were needed to provide some lift after being down two without many. Gerald Coetzee and Kagiso Rabada, however, made sure that the tension didn't release. Rabada had New Zealand captain Tom Latham caught in the covers, while Coetzee had Young caught behind with a peach. Mitchell was holding the fort for the Black Caps before he was bowled out by Maharaj in the 19th over. New Zealand lost half their side at the 20-over mark. South Africa's bowlers, particularly Maharaj put on too much pressure for New Zealand, and they lost their next four wickets for just 43 runs. The Proteas pace quartet controlled the opposition's batting by applying tremendous pressure, picking many wickets, and bowling countless dots. Maharaj was wise to take advantage of this pressure, taking a couple of key wickets before Glenn Phillips struck. As the lone half-centurion in the Kiwi outfit, Phillips struck several powerful blows against the run of play. Even though Phillips provided some late entertainment, the Proteas easily defeated a tough team like New Zealand in Pune, just as they had dominated games against most of the opponents earlier in the competition. Earlier, South Africa piled up yet another huge total in the World Cup, this time against New Zealand as they scored 357/4 riding on centuries by Rassie van der Dussen and Quinton de Kock. Centurions De Kock and Van der Dussen shared a 200-run second-wicket stand that laid the groundwork for South Africa to score more than 300 runs. Additionally, a late push from David Miller (53) gave the Proteas a boost. Brief score: 357/4 (Quinton de Kock 114, Rassie van der Dussen 133; Tim Southee 2-77) vs New Zealand 167 (Glenn Phillips 60, Will Young 33; Keshav Maharaj 4-46). (ANI)
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