South Africa is framing their unexpected defeat to the Netherlands as a mere anomaly. Following a massive win over the defending champions, England, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the Proteas stayed in top form to breeze past Bangladesh at the same venue. Their batting was nearly as explosive as it was against England, almost hitting the 400-run mark despite some early trouble. On the bowling side, they were ruthlessly efficient, putting the game out of reach well before the midway point of the chase, even if they slowed down a bit in the closing stages.
South Africa is emphasizing that their shocking defeat to the Netherlands in the World Cup match was just that, an upset. Three days after hammering defending champions England at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, the Proteas pulled off another emphatic win at the same venue, this time against a struggling Bangladesh team. Similarly, to their batting performance against England, the Proteas finished within touching distance of 400 runs despite a rough start to their innings. South Africa were clinical with the ball as usual, essentially killing off the contest before Bangladesh’s chase could even reach the halfway point in terms of overs, albeit they were guilty of taking their foot off the gas pedal later in the encounter.
Bangladesh's top six collapsed spectacularly, leaving them no chance of a comeback. The momentum shifted quickly when Marco Jansen took two wickets on consecutive deliveries, dismissing Tanzid Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto shortly after they had added 30 runs. The rout continued when Lizaad Williams, making his World Cup debut, removed captain Shakib Al Hasan for a single run, caught by Klaasen for the third time in a row.
Mushfiqur Rahim became Gerald Coetzee’s first victim after edging a wide, short ball to third man. With Litton Das also gone, Bangladesh found themselves reeling at 58/5, staring at a potential historic low of around 100 runs. However, they managed to fight back and reach 200 thanks to several partnerships, most notably a resilient 111-run knock from Mahmudullah, who scored at a run-a-ball to slow the South African momentum.
Quinton de Kock etched his name in the record books by scoring the second-highest individual total ever by a South African in a World Cup match. This landmark achievement happened during the clash with Bangladesh at Mumbai's iconic Wankhede Stadium. The left-handed opener reached his 20th ODI century, anchoring the innings and navigating a rocky start alongside Aiden Markram. By scoring three centuries in the 2023 World Cup, he became the first South African player to ever achieve this feat in a single tournament.
De Kock now stands as one of only seven players in World Cup history to score three centuries in one event. After crossing the hundred-run mark, he shifted into high gear and tore through the Bangladeshi bowling attack. He notably took 22 runs off a single over from Shakib Al Hasan to reach 150, eventually overtaking AB de Villiers' 162 against the West Indies for the second-best South African score. Only Gary Kirsten's 188 against the UAE in 1996 remains higher.