ICC World Cup 2019: Match 45, AUS v SA – South Africa Player Ratings

South Africa might have had a disastrous campaign in the World Cup 2019. But they made sure that they finished the tournament on a high with a win over Australia. The Proteas defeated this opposition for the first time since getting the better of them back in 1992. After winning the toss and opting to bat first, the openers got the team off the blocks with some good knocks.

Wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock even went on to register a fifty. However, the show-stealer was Faf du Plessis, who registered an excellent ton after narrowly missing out in the last match. Rassie van der Dussen provided him with adequate support as South Africa got to 325/6 in 50 overs.

It was a harsh yet sweet lesson for Australia in the chase. They’d be glad they got to encounter something like this in a league game and not in a knockout. David Warner and Alex Carey were the only ones who fought hard with 122 and 85 runs respectively. The rest of the batsmen made contributions but not significant enough which resulted in a 10-run defeat.

Here are the South Africa Player Ratings for the match

Aiden Markram – 4/10

Aiden Markram was playing well until Nathan Lyon invited him for a drive with a lovely flighted delivery. Unfortunately for the batsman, though, the ball slid past his outside edge. His foot was out of the crease and Alex Carey affected a comfortable stumping. Markram scored 34 runs off 37 balls before he got out.

Quinton de Kock – 6/10

Quinton de Kock will be kicking himself for the way he got out in the last game. He played so well and got to his half-century. But a rush of blood moment after he scored 52 runs cost him his wicket. The wicket-keeper batsman tried to slog Nathan Lyon across the line but only got an outside edge which comfortably carried to the fielder. De Kock had an excellent day behind the stumps.

Faf du Plessis – 9.5/10

Faf du Plessis was easily the best batsman for South Africa in this game. Not only did he score his runs at a quick pace but also got a big score. The South African skipper registered his 12th ODI century in this game. However, it was disappointing that he couldn’t score more than 100 runs. He tried to slog one after he got to 100 but it was just too wide that he couldn’t make enough contact with the ball.

Rassie van der Dussen – 9/10

Rassie van der Dussen had just as good an outing as Faf du Plessis. The 30-year-old started off slow but accelerated towards the end of the innings. He scored 95 off only 97 balls and played some beautiful cricket. However, it was an anticlimactic finish to his knock as he tried to smash one out of the park off the last ball of the innings. While he timed that well, he couldn’t get the distance on it and thus couldn’t get to his hundred.

JP Duminy – 2/10

In his final ODI outing, JP Duminy couldn’t make a massive impact. He scored 14 runs off 13 balls with the bat before Mitchell Starc got the better of him. The veteran cricketer, in his last and 199th ODI, bowled four overs where he conceded 22 runs and couldn’t pick up any wickets.

Dwaine Pretorius – 8/10

Dwaine Pretorius had a decent outing with the ball after he was undone by an excellent Mitchell Starc yorker when he was batting. He bowled 6 overs out of which 2 were maidens in this high-scoring encounter. He also picked up the wickets of David Warner and Pat Cummins.

Andile Phehlukwayo – 4/10

Andile Phehlukwayo bowled just 17 balls towards the end of the innings and was given the task of clearing the tail up. While he conceded 22 runs, he also picked up the wickets of Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon which helped his team get over the line.

Chris Morris – 2.5/10

Chris Morris did not have the best of outings with the ball and conceded runs at an economy rate of 7. He went for 63 runs in his 9 overs but picked up the wicket of the dangerous Alex Carey.

Kagiso Rabada – 7/10

Kagiso Rabada had a decent outing with the ball in this game where he finished with a three-wicket haul. He tried to bowl attacking lengths and was always in the hunt for a wicket. Two of his three wickets came towards the end of the innings in the 49th over. He was also involved in a run-out.

Imran Tahir – 2.5/10

Imran Tahir bowed out of ODI cricket with one wicket in his final game. He was asked to open the bowling and he responded by picking up the wicket of Aaron Finch right in his second over. However, he was expensive later on and conceded 59 runs in the 9 overs that he bowled and also dropped a catch of Alex Carey. Tahir has picked up 173 wickets in the 107 ODI matches that he played.

Tabraiz Shamsi – 1/10

Tabraiz Shamsi didn’t have the most perfect of outings and went for 62 runs in the 9 overs that he bowled. He couldn’t pick up any wickets in the game.