South Africa vs Ireland, ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Pool B match at Canberra: Centuries By Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis and other highlights
South Africa vs Ireland, ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Pool B match at Canberra Highlights
South Africa‘s campaign in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 is back on track as they handed Ireland 201-run crushing at Canberra. It was a thoroughly professional display by AB de Villiers‘ boys as completely outplayed their opponents. Sandipan Banerjee finds out the major highlights of this Pool B match.
1. Ireland’s decision to play three spinners: It was crucial game for both teams, as both had four points each prior to the game. The Canberra track which was used for this game was looked quite dry. This gave Ireland some chance as they had the option of playing an extra spinner. William Porterfield did the right thing, bringing in off-spinner Andy McBrine in place of Alex Cusack. Ireland were desperately looking to bat first with the attack, but unfortunately AB de Villiers proved luckier with the coin. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: POINTS TABLE
2. The 247-run partnership between Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis: Ireland had a decent start of the match when they managed to get rid of a struggling Quinton de Kock, whose poor run with bat in this World Cup continued on Tuesday as well. In the initial overs Ireland medium-pacers, especially John Mooney, bowled in good channels; but the experienced duo of Amla and du Plessis always had the game under control. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: SCHEDULE & MATCH DETAILS
Amla became the fastest player to score 20 One-Day International (ODI) tons. Top 10 wicketkeepers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
He also got the highest score of his career and also became the joint second-highest century maker for South Africa in this format along with de Villiers. At the other end Du Plessis continued with his good form in the World Cup and got his fourth ton of his career in the course of this innings. For the second wicket they shared a 247-run partnership which set the platform for South African middle order to launch the attack in the last 10 overs. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage
3. Finishing touch by David Miller and Rilee Rossouw: After the fall of du Plessis in the 39th over, de Villiers came to the wicket and stated punishing the bowlers with his own way. But for a change, the South African skipper failed today after scoring a nine-ball 24. David Miller and Rilee Rossouw then provided finishing touch with an unbeaten 110 run partnership off 51 balls and helped their team to get past 400-run for the fifth time in the history of ODIs. Top 10 batsmen in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
4. Opening burst by the Protease opening bowlers: Chasing down 412 was a daunting task, but keeping the net run rate factor and the chances for qualifying for the quarter-finals in mind, they wanted to get as close to the total as possible. But Ireland were jolted early with three quick wickets within the first five overs. Soon they were reduced to 48 for five. Kyle Abbott and Dale Steyn broke the backbone of Ireland with their initial burst. Top 10 bowlers in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
5. Andrew Balbirnie-Kevin O’Brien’s resistance: Five down for 48, Ireland were heading towards a heavy defeat. But Andrew Balbirnie and Kevin O’Brien put up some fight for Ireland. They shared an 81-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Balbirnie scored gutsy half-century but Kevin missed his by two runs. The lower order also added some valuable runs and helped Ireland to reduce the losing margin a bit. Top 10 fielders in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
(Sandipan Banerjee is a reporter at CricketCountry. Cricket has been the biggest passion for him since his childhood. So, when it came to choosing his career, he chose to turn his passion into his profession. Apart from cricket he likes mountain trekking, river rafting, and photography. His twitter handle is @im_sandipan)