Not for the first time in this Cricket World Cup, AB de Villiers stole the show and guided his country to an easy win. De Villiers crossed 400 runs for the tournament in top scoring with 99 to see his side beat UAE by 146 runs.
South Africa’s win guaranteeing them a place in the quarterfinals – more than likely facing Sri Lanka in Sydney.
Day 26 Results
South Africa v UAE
UAE’s bizarre decision to bowl first ultimately came back to haunt them as they let South Africa amass 341 in their 50 overs. Admittedly, it wasn’t the 400 that South Africa had mangled against the West Indies and Ireland, but that was probably due to the slowness of the surface rather than any bowling feats.
They did account for Hashim Amla early. He was out in just the third over looking to force the ball of the back foot. They also cottoned on to the strategy that most teams should be using and kept liability Quintin de Kock in for 45 balls. He is so woefully out of form that leaving him out there is one of the only chances to keep South Africa under wraps. De Kock scratched around for 26 but his demise brought the arrival of de Villiers.
As he so often does, he started tamely. Scoring off most balls he faced and collecting the information on the pitch and the bowlers before exploding. He eventually fell one shy of a century, but had already added the requisite impetus to the innings, which was expertly finished by Farhaan Behardien. The UAE bowlers were their own worst enemies at times. Conceding no balls that turned into free hits, and failing to stick to a set length. The spell of Mohammad Tauqir was the glaring exception. The old fashioned off-spinner was super effective on a well suited wicket.
Rilee Rossouw and David Miller also chipped in with fast paced knocks. Setting a total hasn’t been an issue for South Africa in this World Cup or in the past few years of ODI cricket, chasing has, so there are still some question marks over their ability to cope with pressure despite de Villers believing they are still the best team in the tournament.
UAE’s batting effort was particularly sedate. One-sided associate chases often turn into survival and practice cricket rather than aggressive pursuits of unrealistic targets. That’s completely understandable on account of the experience that needs to be gained and filtered through World Cricket. It occurred here too, as Swapnil Patil and Shaiman Anwar batted plenty of time to see the UAE through to 195.
The United Arab Emirates side needs to find the form that saw them get close to beating Ireland and Zimbabwe if they are to compete with the West Indies in Napier on Sunday; South Africa on to the quarters.
South Africa 341 for 6 (De Villiers 99, Behardien 64*, Naveed 3-63) beat UAE 195 (Patil 57*, Anwar 39, Morkel 2-23) by 146 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.
