South Africa have stormed back into World Cup contention by becoming the first side to record consecutive ODI totals in excess of 400. Their most recent effort, a dominant 411/4, set up a thumping win over Ireland; their second win of over 200 runs in this World Cup.
The win blew our predictions out of the water, but luckily Kyle Abbot’s four wickets helped us save face and returned a handy $5.50.
Read more about the one-sided Canberra encounter below.
Day 17 Results
South Africa v Ireland
An indication of South Africa’s remarkable betting strength is not evidenced by their back to back 400’s. Well it is, but it’s made even more incredible considering one of their openers has scored just 27 runs in 4 games. While Quintin de Kock struggles the others rally; five South Africans have scored hundreds at the World Cup; six players average over 60 and three of those average over 100; four are striking at a rate over 100.
The batting group were at it again against Ireland yesterday. Hundreds to Hashim Amla (dropped on 10 by Ed Joyce) and Faf du Plessis laid the perfect platform for AB de Villiers Rilee Rossouw and David Miller to exploit the final overs, which they did convincingly. 131 off the final ten was enough to get them past 400 and continue their miraculous net run rate turnaround since their defeat at the hands of India.
In response, Ireland couldn’t muster any of their traditional fighting qualities. At 48/5 the match was effectively over, however Ireland scraped their way to 210 thanks to contributions from Andrew Balbirnie and Kevin O’Brien. South Africa’s bowlers all enjoyed a useful stint at the bowling crease. Abbot was the chief wicket-taker with 4, and Dale Steyn (2-39) and Morne Morkel (3-34) both looked sharp.
South Africa have few concerns for the rest of the World Cup. They may consider sing Rilee Rossouw at the top of the order and drop de Kock, but otherwise they’ll be confident going forward, especially with Vernon Philander to return too.
For Ireland, their match against Zimbabwe now becomes crucial in terms of qualification for the knockout stages. They still have a decent chance of making the top 8 given the inconsistent form of both the West Indies and Pakistan.
They will need to move on quickly from this performance though. They were well off the pace throughout against a very good South African side.
South Africa 411 for 4 (Amla 159, du Plessis 109, Rossouw 61*) beat Ireland 210 (Balbirnie 58, Abbott 4-21) by 201 runs
Betfair:
Bet on Henrik Stenson to become the BMW PGA Championship Winner.
Paddypower:
Back Australia to take the Ashes home with them.
Betway:
Back Rafael Nadal to become the Mens French Open Winner.
Coral:
Back One For Arthur to win the Grand National.
Bet365:
Back Mexico to win the Confederations Cup.
