World Cup 2023, South Africa vs Australia – Top 5 moments of the match

South Africa defeated Australia by 134 runs in an unlike one-sided World Cup contest in Lucknow on Thursday. From Quinton de Kock hitting his successive World Cup hundred to Kagiso Rabada picking three wickets, a lot unfolded during this match. Here are the top five moments of the game.

Despite the new ball doing all the talking in the beginning, the Proteas opening pair of Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma weathered the storm by taking the attack to the opposition, hitting 108 for the first wicket inside 20 overs, laying the foundation of a huge score.

Quinton de Kock, playing his last World Cup, scored a successive hundred in Lucknow against Australia, hitting 109. Having hit a three-digit score against Sri Lanka during a record-breaking outing earlier, the left-handed opener completed his 19th ODI hundred on Thursday.

Dropping catches has cost Australia big time against South Africa in this World Cup game. Not one, not two, but six times Aussies fielders dropped catches during this game - most by them in a World Cup encounter, resulting in them conceding over 300 runs in this high-octane match.

Proteas spearhead Kagiso Rabada was the star performer for them, picking three wickets, including dismissing Josh Inglis off a peach of a delivery on five. After pitching on the good length area, the ball did enough to deviate off the pitch and hit the off and middle stump, leaving Inglis and the Australian camp stunned.

The two dismissals the world would talk about for a long time would be that of Steve Smith and Marcus Stoinis. The delivery on which Smith got out looked like missing the top of the stumps, let alone clipping any wicket since Smith jumped a bit while attempting to play a shot, but it looked clean on Hawk-eye.

Stoinis, on the other hand, was given out after replays showed the ball clipping his gloves while they were holding the bat.