SA vs SL | Twitter reacts as records tumble in Proteas' blowout 102-run win over the Lions

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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South Africa kicked off their campaign in dominant fashion at a flat track in Delhi on Saturday as they rode on the back of centuries from Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram to put up 428/5 on the board. In response, Sri Lanka battled valiantly but fell short comprehensively.

Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium -- a decision that came back to haunt them. After Temba Bavuma was dismissed cheaply with the score reading 10/1, Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen combined for a flawless 204-run partnership for the second. By the time the duo, both centurions on the day, departed with the score reading 264/3, the stage was set for their explosive middle-order batters to take the game by storm. Aiden Markram obliged by taking the Lions' bowling to the cleaners with a 49-ball century, the quickest in World Cup history. Handy rapid cameos from Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller of 32 and 39* respectively meant the Proteas comfortably went past the previous highest World Cup total of 417 set by Australia in the 2015 edition.

The Asian outfit was always going to be chasing an improbable target and unfortunately for them, the batters could not conjure up the kind of ridiculous miracle it'd require to get them over the line. Kusal Mendis played his part with a blistering 42-ball 76, featuring four boundaries and eight maximums. Charith Asalanka top-scored with 79 at a strike rate of 121.53 while skipper Dasun Shanaka turned on the style late on by getting to his half-century with five boundaries on the trot. However, the Proteas kept striking at regular intervals and Gerald Coetzee emerged as the pick of the bowlers with three scalps while Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj dismissed two batters each. In the end, Kagiso Rabada equalled the tally of the duo as well by picking up the last wicket of the match in the 45th over to fold out the Lions for 326. 

Big W!

What an inns from Mendis!!

Great win!

Stellar

True

Superb fight

LOL

Modern era

Correct

Nice

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