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And so that concludes our coverage of yet another one-sided contest. That's been the norm this World Cup but the buzz and excitement remains especially on the back of some remarkable results. One of India and New Zealand will taste defeat for the first time tomorrow though as they square off in beautiful Dharamsala. Do join us for our coverage of that contest right here on Sportskeeda and as always, do stay updated with further cricketing news and action from around the world on this very platform. For the moment, this is the duo of Pratyush Rohra and Sooryanarayanan Sesha taking your leave. Thank you so much for tuning in today as we hope you enjoyed our coverage. See you tomorrow - good night and take care!
Smiles everywhere if you're a South African fan. Double treat if the Springboks can do it as well of course but coming to the cricket, it's been all about the Proteas. What a way to bounce back indeed after that shock defeat to the Dutch. They let the last defeat hurt them but they will now rejoice after what has been a thoroughly dominant display. They have no travel just yet either as they face Bangladesh at this very venue on Tuesday (October 24). As for England, they've just about avoided last spot by the third decimal on net run-rate. One win after four outings and games against India, Pakistan and Australia to follow. Not looking good is it? They look deflated and they certainly have to galvanize a lot of motivation to bounce back as they next head to Bengaluru to face Sri Lanka on Thursday (October 26).
Aiden Markram (South Africa captain): (Most satisfying win of his career?) I would think so yeah. Fantastic all-round performance from us. The skills to top off those efforts was pleasing to see so very happy tonight. We know England do like chasing. We were going to bat first but happy it worked out the way it did. It was a really hot day. Really great knock from Reeza. It's not nice hearing in the warmup that you're going to be involved. He's been around a long time. He's been working on his game and he's earned those rewards tonight. (On Klaasen's development) It has been big. Him at 5 and David Miller at 6 is really destructive a pair if we get into the back end of the innings. He's come a long way, we've played cricket together for a while. To do this on a global stage is massive for him. (On Jansen) He is (growing in stature). He's have a great comp. He's hitting a lot of balls and is preparing for the worst case scenario. If he has to slog it he takes it on for us. He has a lot of ability with the bat. When he got in there, we were in a bit of trouble but him and Klaasy were outstanding. The perfect way to bounce back. One last thing to the Boks - it's a massive game so we wish them all the best (wishes the South African rugby team as they too face England).
Jos Buttler (England captain): Incredibly disappointing. We came here with high hopes to play our best cricket. Throughout the first innings, a lot of things didn't go to plan. Topley got injured and we didn't know if he could come back or not, and the other guys were struggling with the heat as well. So, a tough outing there. If we could restrict them to 340-350, we would have been in the game. (Wrong decision to field first?) Yeah, potentially. You always look back on the decisions you make. Potentially should have batted first because of the heat. The conditions were certainly tough. The humidity and the challenges with the conditions didn't make it easy. It was tough. We needed to get off to a really good start chasing a score like that. A couple of tame dismissals, some down the leg side, with the leg slip. (This loss) It leaves us with no room for error. We can't afford any more slip-ups. That's the situation we've put ourselves in.
It was an outing to remember for Marco Jansen but Reece Topley took a pasting and went for 26 off an over. Here's a watch at that carnage in case you missed it!👇
Heinrich Klaasen is the Player of the Match. (Surprise surprise): It's up there with my best ever (this hundred). The conditions were brutal out there, so it'll go down as one of my better ones. Proper heat, just takes the energy out of you. The discussion was don't run your ones too hard and make sure you save energy because the heat out there is extreme. It saps the energy out of you. (Partnership with Jansen) It was a little bit early. At the same time, we knew the heat would sap the energy out of them too. So, the chat was that if we could hang on for 2-3 overs, we would have broken them. We just had to hang on for a little bit, and they physically will be under the pump. (Jansen's performance) Next level. I think this award should go to him. He got me through the innings, telling me I can't get off the field until I get a hundred. He's been phenomenal and for him to be scoring the runs the way he is brilliant. That's what he needs to keep doing. (Loss against the Netherlands) That was a tough loss. We have been playing good cricket. One bad performance doesn't make us a bad team. We had some tough chats, to be honest. The boys bounced back in the training sessions and it was a fantastic performance today.
Match Summary: South Africa beat England by 229 runs.
Heinrich Klaasen 109 (67) | Gerald Coetzee 3/35 (4) Mark Wood 43* (17) | Reece Topley 3/88 (8.5)
Now how do we aptly sum up what just transpired? This was a contest that had a lot of anticipation around it with both South Africa and England coming off big upsets. A win for England would have led to a claustrophobic mid-table logjam with four teams tied on four points from as many games. As it turned out though, only one team showed up. England turned up at the toss, but their decision to field first fell flat on their face as Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen powered the Proteas to 399.
The defending champions were wounded, deflated and subdued. And it showed in the way they just never got going with the bat. Jonny Bairstow swung like a rusty gate and connected with a couple of deliveries before perishing. South Africa were always switched on and it reflected in Aiden Markram's outstanding field placement as Joe Root fell into the leg gully trap. Dawid Malan being strangled down the leg-side and Ben Stokes chipping it back to Kagiso Rabada spelled doom of the highest order for England and their world came crashing down.
It was all but a procession. They swung hard and went down swinging and while skipper Jos Buttler looked to have some fun, he didn't last long himself. The fielding - until the last bit or so - was of the highest standard as South Africa pouched whatever came their way. The sullen faces in the English camp painted a damning picture as every bowler who took the ball for the Proteas chipped away at the wickets. All of a sudden, that loss to the Netherlands in Dharamsala seemed a long, long time ago.
The wicket hadn't changed at all. Such was the task on England's hand that they just had to take the attacking route. Except, there was no method and only madness and it was bound to come apart. Reece Topley wasn't going to bat owing to the injury he picked up and it made sense, for it was a lost cause a comfortable time ago. Even then, Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood swung for the Arabian Sea and pocketed as many boundaries and sixes as they could but it all ended very quickly nevertheless. A resounding victory for South Africa and a drubbing of some kind for England. Is that it then for their title defense?
The misery is over! Reece Topley will not bat due to his finger injury and it sums up a real dark day on the field for the defending champions, whose title hopes have taken more than just a dent. South Africa hammer England by 229 runs!
21.6 Keshav Maharaj to Gus Atkinson, KNOCKS HIM OVER! Game, set, match. Arm ball sliding in from the good length, castling the middle stump as Atkinson rocked back and missed his cut. After a disappointing defeat against the Dutch, South Africa have bundled over the defending champions to win this contest by 229 runs.
Video
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J Root
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Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
![[Watch] Marco Jansen's colossal six caps Reece Topley's 26-run over in ENG vs SA 2023 World Cup clash](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/10/3ce6e-16978964887363-1920.jpg?w=700)
