South Africa suffered an embarrassing defeat against India in their top-of-the-table clash at the Cricket World Cup, losing by 243 runs in Kolkata, India. India won the toss and batted first, scoring 326 for five before bowling the Proteas out for just 83 runs, their lowest-ever score in World Cup cricket.
The Proteas were under pressure right from the start of the game.
A combination of poor bowling and excellent batting allowed India to post 61 without loss after just five overs.
Kagiso Rabada took the wicket of Rohit Sharma for 40 in the sixth over while Keshav Maharaj got rid of the other opener, Shubman Gill who scored 23 in the eleventh over.
The Proteas managed to bring down the run rate after that, but Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer always looked like they were in complete control as they paced the innings to perfection.
Kohli went on to score his 49th century, equalling the record for the most one-day international centuries held by compatriot, Sachin Tendulkar.
All five of the Proteas frontline bowlers took a wicket, but the Indian batting attack was especially severe on Marco Jansen who conceded 94 runs in nine overs and four balls. Kohli finished on 101 not out.
The Proteas and India were the only two teams who had booked their place in the semi-finals before the game started. But this performance showed that they are in no way on the same competitive level.
India remains unbeaten in the tournament thanks to being a well-balanced side. Both their bowlers and batsmen are the best in the competition as other sides can attest to. They are the uncontested favourites to win the world cup but Protea fans would’ve liked to see some fighting spirit from their team.
Both teams have one game left and the Proteas take on Afghanistan on Friday while India face the Netherlands on Sunday.
