South Africa are on the brink of clinching a World Cup semi-final berth after crushing New Zealand by 190 runs.
South Africa are on the brink of clinching a World Cup semi-final berth after a 190-run thrashing of New Zealand in Pune.
After Bavuma fell for 24, De Kock and Van der Dussen laid the foundations, each batting with great control and making the most of New Zealand dropping tough chances to remove them on their way to three figures. Marco Jansen, who claimed 3-31, and his fellow fast bowlers did the initial damage to reduce New Zealand to 67-4 in reply, before left-arm spinner Maharaj hammered home South Africa's dominance as the Kiwis collapsed to 110-8.
However, the injury-hit Black Caps find themselves in a battle to progress, just two points ahead of Pakistan and Afghanistan, with crucial matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka to come.Coming into a major tournament with injured players in the squad is always a risk but, for captain Kane Williamson and Tim Southee, New Zealand considered it a risk worth taking.
Four wins from four to start the competition helped mask those injury problems but three losses on the spin, albeit to the top three sides, has put the pressure on an increasingly thread-bare group, with their net run-rate also taking a significant hit in this defeat. "They bowled really well up front. I felt quite scratchy, I couldn't find my rhythm. I just want to keep batting, bat for longer. My career is coming down to a finish, I'm trying to bat as much as I can.""We had to work hard, when Quinny got to 50 he said it was a hard-working 50. He played brilliantly, he guided me through my options, we batted together quite nicely.
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