De Kock special gives South Africa big win

A blistering career-best knock of 178 off 113 balls by Quinton de Kock helped South Africa beat Australia by six wickets in the first One-Day International of the five-match series, at SuperSport Park on Friday (September 30).

Chasing 295 from the stipulated 50 overs, de Kock and Rilee Rossouw, his co-opener, were aggressive from the onset and showed no signs of easing up. De Kock only upped his aggression with each passing over to finish with 16 fours and 11 sixes, to help his side past the target in just 37 overs.

Australia, led by Steven Smith, was unable to stem the flow of runs as both openers raced away to rapid half-centuries. By the time Adam Zampa made the breakthrough in his opening over to get rid off Rossouw for a 45-ball 63 in the 18th over of the innings, South Africa had the game firmly in its grasp at 145 for 1.

Rather than checking himself for a while after his partner's dismissal, de Kock only became more vehement in his shot-making. The shot to bring up his 11th ODI hundred — a savage pull over the midwicket fence — was representative of his mood.

In the same over by Daniel Worrall, de Kock smashed another six and followed it up with three boundaries of Zampa the subsequent over. The flurry of boundaries eased South Africa past the 200-run mark in just the 26th over, which meant the host required under 100 runs at a measly asking rate of about 3.8 with nine wickets in hand.

Despite the position of dominance and completion of his three-figure milestone, de Kock showed discretion in the kind of balls he attacked paying due respect to good balls, but at the same time treating deliveries that were even marginally off radar with disdain.

After three boundary-less overs, de Kock smacked the final three balls of the the 28th over, bowled by Mitchell Marsh, to various parts of the park, the last of which was a six to surpass his previous highest ODI score of 138*.

Faf du Plessis (26), who had come in at one drop, was happy to be passive witness to the carnage being whipped by de Kock at the other end. De Kock continued to attack, smashing Zampa for three consecutive sixes in the 30th over.

The wicket of du Plessis to Scott Boland in the 32nd over with South Africa needing just 27 more runs brought no hint of celebration from the men in yellow.

Similarly, JP Duminy's (9) wicket to Boland a couple of overs later failed to elicit celebratory responses. When de Kock finally fell the same over, Australia could contend with the fact that its tormentor-in-chief was not left unconquered, but the result was still a mere formality.

After taking severe punishment in the first spell, Boland's second spell was outstanding, reading 3 for 16 from three overs, getting Duminy and de Kock with bouncers, Travis Head the catcher at square-leg on both occasions.

David Miller (10) and Farhaan Behardien (5) knocked off the remaining runs at an easy pace but still got South Africa home with 13.4 overs to spare.

Earlier, Bailey and Hastings dug Australia out of trouble with a 79-run seventh-wicket stand. Australia made 294 for 9 after being sent in to bat, but it had been in danger of not batting out its overs after slipping to 192 for 6 in the 29th over.

Phehlukwayo, the 20-year-old allrounder, took 4 for 44 in his second ODI, taking three top-order wickets in a frenetic first half of the Australian innings. Bailey (74) and Hastings (51) steadied the innings, with Hastings bringing up a maiden half-century before he became Phehlukwayo's fourth victim when he was caught on the long-off boundary.

It was a remarkable performance by Phehlukwayo, who was hit for 16 runs in his first over by Aaron Finch, but came back strongly on a day when more experienced seamers, including Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada, took heavy punishment.

Phehlukwayo had Finch caught at backward square leg and Smith leg before wicket in his second over. He followed that up with the wicket of Mitchell Marsh, caught by a diving de Kock.

With David Warner setting the tone with 40 off 36 balls, Australia scored rapidly but kept losing wickets before Bailey and Hastings came together. Bailey hit 74 off 90 balls with seven fours and a six, while Hastings faced 56 deliveries, hitting six fours and two sixes.

The teams face off for the second ODI in Johannesburg on Sunday (October 2), giving Australia only one and a half day of restoration time to try and correct its mindset in order to bounce back.
A blistering career-best knock of 178 off 113 balls by Quinton de Kock helped South Africa beat Australia by six wickets in the first One-Day International of the five-match series, at SuperSport Park on Friday (September 30).

Chasing 295 from the stipulated 50 overs, de Kock and Rilee Rossouw, his co-opener, were aggressive from the onset and showed no signs of easing up. De Kock only upped his aggression with each passing over to finish with 16 fours and 11 sixes, to help his side past the target in just 37 overs.

Australia, led by Steven Smith, was unable to stem the flow of runs as both openers raced away to rapid half-centuries. By the time Adam Zampa made the breakthrough in his opening over to get rid off Rossouw for a 45-ball 63 in the 18th over of the innings, South Africa had the game firmly in its grasp at 145 for 1.

Rather than checking himself for a while after his partner's dismissal, de Kock only became more vehement in his shot-making. The shot to bring up his 11th ODI hundred — a savage pull over the midwicket fence — was representative of his mood.

In the same over by Daniel Worrall, de Kock smashed another six and followed it up with three boundaries of Zampa the subsequent over. The flurry of boundaries eased South Africa past the 200-run mark in just the 26th over, which meant the host required under 100 runs at a measly asking rate of about 3.8 with nine wickets in hand.

Despite the position of dominance and completion of his three-figure milestone, de Kock showed discretion in the kind of balls he attacked paying due respect to good balls, but at the same time treating deliveries that were even marginally off radar with disdain.

After three boundary-less overs, de Kock smacked the final three balls of the the 28th over, bowled by Mitchell Marsh, to various parts of the park, the last of which was a six to surpass his previous highest ODI score of 138*.

Faf du Plessis (26), who had come in at one drop, was happy to be passive witness to the carnage being whipped by de Kock at the other end. De Kock continued to attack, smashing Zampa for three consecutive sixes in the 30th over.

The wicket of du Plessis to Scott Boland in the 32nd over with South Africa needing just 27 more runs brought no hint of celebration from the men in yellow.

Similarly, JP Duminy's (9) wicket to Boland a couple of overs later failed to elicit celebratory responses. When de Kock finally fell the same over, Australia could contend with the fact that its tormentor-in-chief was not left unconquered, but the result was still a mere formality.

After taking severe punishment in the first spell, Boland's second spell was outstanding, reading 3 for 16 from three overs, getting Duminy and de Kock with bouncers, Travis Head the catcher at square-leg on both occasions.

David Miller (10) and Farhaan Behardien (5) knocked off the remaining runs at an easy pace but still got South Africa home with 13.4 overs to spare.

Earlier, Bailey and Hastings dug Australia out of trouble with a 79-run seventh-wicket stand. Australia made 294 for 9 after being sent in to bat, but it had been in danger of not batting out its overs after slipping to 192 for 6 in the 29th over.

Phehlukwayo, the 20-year-old allrounder, took 4 for 44 in his second ODI, taking three top-order wickets in a frenetic first half of the Australian innings. Bailey (74) and Hastings (51) steadied the innings, with Hastings bringing up a maiden half-century before he became Phehlukwayo's fourth victim when he was caught on the long-off boundary.

It was a remarkable performance by Phehlukwayo, who was hit for 16 runs in his first over by Aaron Finch, but came back strongly on a day when more experienced seamers, including Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada, took heavy punishment.

Phehlukwayo had Finch caught at backward square leg and Smith leg before wicket in his second over. He followed that up with the wicket of Mitchell Marsh, caught by a diving de Kock.

With David Warner setting the tone with 40 off 36 balls, Australia scored rapidly but kept losing wickets before Bailey and Hastings came together. Bailey hit 74 off 90 balls with seven fours and a six, while Hastings faced 56 deliveries, hitting six fours and two sixes.

The teams face off for the second ODI in Johannesburg on Sunday (October 2), giving Australia only one and a half day of restoration time to try and correct its mindset in order to bounce back.