South Africa's man of the moment, Quinton de Kock was all praise for the his side's bowlers after their performance led them to a 134-run victory over Australia on Thursday, October 12, in Lucknow. (Highlights | Scorecard | Full Coverage)
Opting to bowl first, Australia's fielding was shoddy as South African batters made merry of the poor lines and lengths from the Aussie bowlers. The Men In Yellow were given target of 312 but Kagiso Rabada's three-fer and some quality bowling helped the Proteas bowl out Australia for 177 in 40.5 overs.
De Kock, who was adjudged the Player Of The Match for his 109 runs, said that batting second was a bit tougheer under the floodlights. "A great win for the boys, assessed conditions well, played accordingly, stuck to our strengths and came out on top. They were potent up front, so we assessed our scoring options,” De Kock was quoted as saying after the match.
“Definitely thought it was above-par, seen from the Lucknow team it gets harder at night and it did prove that. It was sweaty and humid, but the bowlers bowled with intensity, didn't give them a sniff up front,” he said.
With this win, Temba Bavuma-led South Africa moved to the top of the league table with four points and a healthy net run-rate of +2.360, mostly thanks to their thumping win in both the games. De Kock said that his side won't be careless despite the two wins under their belt.
“We are pretty pleased with ourselves, but only two games in, anything can happen, and quickly, won't get too high, just take it game by game," de Kock added.
South Africa’s next match is against the Netherlands on October 17 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala.
