South Africa end 24-year wait with thumping win over New Zealand

New Zealand v South Africa: Match Centre, Scorecard

South Africa came out on top against close competitors New Zealand, recording their first win over the Kiwis since 1999 in the men's Cricket World Cup.

Marco Jansen's double strike lifted South Africa in the first Powerplay before Gerald Coetzee and Kagiso Rabada followed up with wickets of their own. Keshav Maharaj ensured that the spinners had their say and struck four times to ensure a dominant South Africa win.

Rassie van der Dussen was the Player of the Match for his brilliant 133.

Earlier, a 200-run second-wicket stand between centurions Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen set the base for yet another 300-plus total for South Africa. The Proteas were also boosted by a late charge from David Miller (53).

Marco Jansen finished with 2/20 at the end of the first Powerplay, wherein he accounted for southpaws Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra. New Zealand tried their best to go for quick runs but lost Conway pretty early to a sharp catch from Aiden Markram.

Will Young and Ravindra tried to open their arms and go for quick runs. But Jansen struck yet again in the ninth over to get Ravindra caught at fine leg. Two down without too many, the New Zealand lineup needed a lift from their middle-order batters.

However, Gerald Coetzee and Kagiso Rabada ensured that the built-up pressure wasn't let off. Coetzee had Young caught behind with a peach, and Rabada had the New Zealand skipper Tom Latham caught in the covers.

Mitchell was holding fort for the Blackcaps, before he fell to Maharaj in the 19th over. He lofted one down the wicket, where he was expertly caught by David Miller.

New Zealand crumbled under the pressure exerted by South Africa bowlers, especially the turn of Maharaj, and lost their next four for merely 43 runs.

A number of lusty blows from Glenn Phillips against the run of play helped New Zealand bat till the 36th over.

In the afternoon, tidy work from New Zealand ensured that South Africa had to work for their runs in Pune.

And skipper Temba Bavuma led the way with a number of confident strokes, especially through the cover region.

However, Bavuma was undone by Trent Boult. The experienced seamer got the South Africa captain to drive a delivery which landed at an uncomfortable length and induced a thick edge that went through to first slip.

Rassie van der Dussen then came together with Quinton de Kock to take forward the Proteas batting effort. They kept the scoring rate in the higher ranges of four till the 20-over mark, with a number of aggressive shots.

De Kock reached his half-century, his fourth fifty-plus score of the tournament, in the 21st over.

There were concerned faces in the New Zealand camp, who already have a number of injuries in their numbers after Matt Henry walked back into the pavilion without finishing his sixth over. The pacer had pulled a hamstring after the third ball of the 27th over, and the remaining deliveries were completed by James Neesham.

After going at a steady pace for the majority of innings, De Kock and van der Dussen picked pace after the 30-over mark. They added 39 runs off the next five overs. De Kock then brought up his fourth Cricket World Cup hundred with a maximum off Neesham in the 36th over.

The batters were already dictating the terms of play and New Zealand needed a quick breakthrough to pull things back. The Black Caps finally had their way in the 40th over, when Southee accounted for de Kock.

However, this brought the dangerous David Miller onto the crease. Along with van der Dussen, he added a quickfire 78 for the third wicket.

South Africa hit a total of nine sixes in the final Powerplay.

With this game, they already have the most sixes in any edition of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.

Earlier, Tom Latham flipped the coin and decided to field. Tim Southee returned to the lineup in place of Lockie Ferguson, who was sidelined with an Achilles concern.

Temba Bavuma said that they would've batted first anyhow. He expressed that the wicket was on the drier side and that the ball might skid in the evening. Kagiso Rabada came in for Tabraiz Shamsi after he missed the Proteas' recent match against Pakistan with a back problem.

Kane Williamson was in contention to return from his thumb injury to take on the Proteas, but the Black Caps avoided taking that call.

Two of the early pacesetters at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 meet, with the winner set to move a step closer to locking in a semi-final berth with another victory here.

South Africa are currently sitting second in the standings, one spot ahead of New Zealand, with five wins mostly built on devastating displays when setting a lofty target in four of those triumphs.

The Proteas have been shakier when chasing a target, falling 38 runs short of the 246 that Netherlands set for them for what turned into their only defeat at the tournament so far, and later staggering to the line for a less-than-convincing one-wicket victory against Pakistan.

New Zealand will be out to get their Cricket World Cup campaign back on track after four initial victories were followed by back-to-back losses to India and Australia.

A third consecutive loss would leave the Black Caps well within reach of the chasing pack led by Pakistan and Afghanistan.

What has gone right - and wrong - for each team at CWC23

New Zealand hold a 6-2 advantage over South Africa at past ICC Men's Cricket World Cups and are currently on a streak of five consecutive wins in head-to-head encounters at the tournament.

The most famous of these Kiwi triumphs came in the 2015 semi-final when New Zealand won by 4 wickets with 1 ball remaining as the D/L method was required.

Another semi-final clash would be on the cards if South Africa (second) and New Zealand (third) hold onto their current positions in the standings.

The Black Caps also won by four wickets then the two sides last met in an ODI though that was curiously four years ago at the Cricket World Cup in 2019.

New Zealand squad: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c) (wk), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Trent Boult.

South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.