‘Dug deep after bad loss’

South Africa’s Heinrich Klaasen celebrates his century against England at Wankhede on Saturday. Pic/AFP; SA’s Marco Jansen hits out during his 75 not out. Pic/Atul Kamble

South Africa are back on track again and proved why they are considered one of the best teams in the ongoing World Cup. Just a few days ago, they experienced a crushing defeat to the Netherlands. However, the Proteas bounced back strongly, beating defending champions England by a huge margin of 229 runs at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

It was a complete team effort from SA, who outclassed Jos Buttler's English army in all three departments of the game. The only thing that England won, was the toss. However, the decision to put SA into bat boomeranged as they posted a mammoth 399-7 in the allotted 50 overs.

Even without their regular skipper and opener Temba Bavuma, who was ruled out due to illness, SA got a good start with Reeza Hendricks (75-ball 85, 9x4, 3x6), who replaced Bavuma, and one-drop Rassie van der Dussen (60, 8x4), who together stitched a 121-run stand for the second wicket in just 116 balls.

Also Read: ICC World Cup 2023 | ENG vs SA: The drama of the first inning

Then, No. 5 Heinrich Klaasen's attacking century (67-ball 109, 12x4, 4x6) and No. 7 Marco Jansen's unbeaten 75 off 42 balls had the English bowlers. No doubt, the South African batsmen dominated the game and batted beautifully, dispatching balls to the fence at will, but it was helped by the wayward bowling too.

Klaasen revealed how he got inspired to score a match-winning knock. "Yeah, I had to dig really, really deep there. I didn't have any energy left. But, no, on a serious note, I've got a family that's upstairs. So, obviously, chatting to them to help me through a little bit of those moments. And obviously it's an honour for us to play for our country. And Marco also played a big part in that. He told me today [Saturday] that he's got me and that I'm not allowed to walk off the field if I don't score 100. And I told him, but I can't run and he said, it's fine, just give me 100 per cent every time you face the ball.

"Like I said, it's still a privilege to play for our country and especially in a moment like this, after a bad loss against the Netherlands. You got to dig deep for your country as well. I've worked my whole life for it, so it's a great moment," Klaasen said at the post-match press conference on Saturday.

In reply, it was just a formality for SA as the Englishmen were bundled out for a mere 170 in 22 overs. The top-scorers of the innings - Mark Wood (17-ball 43 not out) and Gus Atkinson (35) managed to register their individual highest ODI scores.

Pacer Gerald Coetzee (3-35) was SA's most successful bowler, whose scalps included fine batters Buttler (15) and Harry Brook (17). New ball bowlers Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen, who disturbed England's top-order, claimed two wickets each.

Brief scores
South Africa 399-7 in 50 overs (H Klaasen 109, R Hendricks 85, M Jansen 75', R Dussen 60, A Markram 42; R Topley 3-88, G Atkinson 2-60, A Rashid 2-61 beat England 170 all out in 22 overs (M Wood 43', G Atkinson 35; G Coetzee 3-35, L Ngidi 2-26, Marco Jansen 2-35) by 229 runs