Latest News
De Kock masterclass leads another South African carnage
Quinton de Kock slammed his third century of the 2023 ODI World Cup as South Africa piled on another mammoth score in their fixture against Bangladesh in Mumbai on Tuesday (October 24). De Kock ended with the second highest World Cup score by a South African batter while Heinrich Klaasen was at his brutal best as well to give the Proteas a whopping finish to the innings. A mind boggling 217 runs came off the last 20 overs of which 144 came in the last 60 deliveries.
Opting to bat, South Africa had a tentative start with the early loss of Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen in the first PowerPlay. Bangladesh came out with intent both with the ball and in the field, which meant that it wasn’t easy going in the opening hour or so. However, de Kock and skipper Aiden Markram assessed the situation quite well and went about their job in steady fashion, fully knowing that the Wankhede Stadium is a ground where you can catch up later on. The new ball nipped just a bit and Shoriful Islam made good early use of it to castle Hendricks while van der Dussen played the wrong line against Mehidy Hasan to be trapped LBW.
The in-form de Kock was on song from the get-go and Markram too joined in after a slow start to his innings. As the partnership grew, pressure started to mount on Bangladesh’s bowlers who had no idea on how to stop the run flow. Eventually, skipper Shakib Al Hasan broke the partnership when Markram mistimed a loft down long-off’s throat. But by then, the platform had been laid for the likes of Klaasen to do his thing in the middle. Fresh from his unreal assault against England a few days ago, Klaasen smashed the second ball that he faced off spin for a six and there was no looking back for him. It also ensured that de Kock could smoothly get to his third century of the tournament.
Once he got his ton, de Kock went up a few gears in his onslaught although he was clearly starting to tire with the heat and humidity. It didn’t affect his gameplay though, and Bangladesh’s bowlers were sent on a leather hunt from both sides. Given that de Kock and Klaasen are very different kinds of stroke makers, Shakib could do very little to put a lid on the scoring rate. The conditions at Wankhede also aided boundary-hitting and it just meant that Bangladesh’s bowlers had no real margin for error. To be fair to them, they were very good in the field but the bowling wasn’t consistent enough, particularly at the back end.
By the time de Kock fell, the stage had been set for David Miller to put the final touches to the innings and he duly did that with a rollicking 14-ball 34. Klaasen kept going at his typical rate at the other end and wasn’t far away from smashing successive centuries but a slower bouncer had him mistiming an upper cut to deep backward point. He may not have got the milestone but it was another severely damaging innings from Klaasen who is arguably the most destructive middle order batter at the moment.
Brief scores:
South Africa 382/5 in 50 overs (Quinton de Kock 174, Heinrich Klaasen 90, Aiden Markram 60, David Miller 34*; Hasan Mahmud 2-67) vs Bangladesh
(Cricbuzz)
Mikel Merino scored in the 88th minute from a rebound yielded by backup Belgium goalkeeper Senne Lammens, and Spain advanced to the World Cup semifinals with a 2-1 victory.
Merino was the late hero for the second straight match for Spain, who advanced to face tournament favourite France in the semifinals on Tuesday in Dallas.
Merino came on in the 86th minute and scored from his second touch of the match, charging into the box and pouncing after Lammens spilled a Pau Cubarsi shot from outside the area.
The Arsenal forward also scored as a substitute early in injury time to secure Spain’s 1-0 victory over Portugal in the last-16.
Lammens, the Manchester United keeper, was forced into the match in the 71st minute after longtime Belgium keeper Thibaut Courtois left with an apparent thigh injury.
Belgium desperately pressed for an equaliser in the final minutes, but Aymeric Laporte volleyed their best chance out of the box.
Fabian Ruiz scored the opening goal in the 30th minute for Spain after Courtois had parried a shot from Dani Olmo from Pedro Porro’s cut-back from the right of the area, but Belgium forward Charles De Ketelaere scored the first goal allowed by Spain in the entire World Cup in the 41st minute.
His header from Timothy Castagne’s cross from the right ended a record streak of 649 minutes without conceding at the World Cup.
The annual rugby encounter between Dharmaraja College and Kingswood College, played for the William Weerasinghe Memorial Trophy, is set to take place tomorrow (July 11, 2026), at 4:00 PM at the Bogambara Stadium, Kandy.
The official unveiling of the trophy took place this week at the Dharmaraja College premises with the participation of the Principals of the two schools, teachers-in-charge of sports, coaches, the Rugby teams, and several distinguished guests, including Dharmaraja College Old Boys’ Association President Mahesh Wijetunga, Kingswood College Old Boys’ Association President Muditha Abeykoon,
by S K SAMARANAYAKE
It has been reported quoting family sources that veteran singer Mariazelle Goonetilleke has passed away this morning (10) at the age of 68
She had been receiving treatment at the Kalubowila Teaching Hospital.
Spain leave it late to book semifinal date with France
Showers will occur in the Sabaragamuwa, Western and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
US$ 2.5 mn cyber heist exposes system failures
Opposition signs no-confidence motion against Justice Minister for dereliction of duty over Negombo Prison deaths
AG informs SC of e-visa agreement review
Navy, Coast Guard seize smuggled pharmaceuticals and cosmetics in Puttalam
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
News6 days agoSingapore-based Buddhist monk marks nearly four decades of humanitarian service
-
News1 day agoHerath warns prospective migrant workers not to get fleeced by racketeers
-
News5 days agoAI concerned over proposed SL military deployment in Haiti
-
Midweek Review3 days agoUnexpected focus on ‘pieces of tin’ worn by military men
-
Latest News4 days agoNyamhuri and Ngarava stun Bangladesh by defending 141
-
Features6 days agoThe NPP’s New Challenge: Balancing Easter Lawfare and Economic Welfare
-
News2 days agoNegombo Prison riot: Ensuring protection of prisoners fundamental responsibility of the state – UN
-
Editorial3 days agoPrison riots and political battles