Australia vs South Africa: ICC Cricket World Cup 2023

South Africa 311-7  (50)          Australia 177 all out  (40.5)

South Africa captain, Temba Bavuma, may have lost the toss but he was by far the happier skipper at the end.

“I do think 310 was over par. I think 290, maybe 300, was a par score,” he said.

“I’m glad we lost the toss because we were also looking to chase. Things worked out in our favour.

“Quinton needs to be credited a lot. I was a bit stratchy and found it tough.

“It was a close to perfect game for us. I’ll take that as our second game.”

Australia captain Pat Cummins admits the team will take this one hard as they lose their opening two World Cup matches.

“I thought de Kock in particular batted really well and we just couldn’t get a breakthrough,” he said.

“From where they were we were pretty happy with 310. We thought it was chasable.

“It looked like hard work out there at night, their bowlers bowled really well and perhaps it zipped around a bit more than during the day.

“If we want to be challenging for this tournament you have to try and find a way in all conditions. That goes for the batters and the bowlers.

Player of the Match – de Kock

It was consecutive centuries for Quinton de Cock to begin the World Cup.