A second successive World Cup ton for Quinton de Kock helped South Africa to put up a par score despite a strong fightback from Australia in the death overs. The left-handed opener’s knock was well supported by a fluent fifty from Aiden Markram on a pitch that wasn’t straightforward to score off, particularly when pace was taken off. South Africa looked on course for a score of 325-plus at one stage but Australia hit their straps in the final overs to curb the run flow. The score could have been much lesser had the Aussies taken their catches, seven of which were dropped.

The afternoon began on a surprising note as Pat Cummins opted to bowl. Given Lucknow’s sluggish decks in the Indian Premier League, that wasn’t expected but what was also a factor is that the tracks had been relaid for the World Cup with many red soil pitches being prepared, this being one. So, there was a lot of uncertainty on how it would play and that’s probably what dictated Cummins’ call at the toss. It was soon evident that the track was on the slower side but at the same time, a much better deck than has been seen in recent times.

De Kock and captain Temba Bavuma put on a century stand to set the base, although the latter was lucky to survive a couple of dropped chances. He finally perished to Glenn Maxwell who was easily the best of the Australian bowlers, making full use of the surface and ground dimensions on offer. De Kock kept motoring along at the other end, although even he couldn’t consistently force the pace as the ball got softer. This is where Markram’s knock comes in for special mention. He barely looked flustered in his timing and played some classy strokes to ensure that the tempo wasn’t lost in the middle overs.