Picture Credit: Twitter
The batting lineup of South Africa suffered an early collapse after their captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and decided to bat first in overcast conditions at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, the Australian fast bowling duo, were impeccable with their lines and lengths in the first spell, picking up two wickets each to put the opposition firmly on the backfoot in the second semi-final of the ODI World Cup 2023.
Mitchell Starc picked up the big scalp of the South Africa captain Temba Bavuma in the first over of the innings, nicking him off through to the wicket-keeper Josh Inglis for zero. When Quinton de Kock tried to break the shackles against Josh Hazlewood in the sixth over, he holed out to a stunning catch from the Australian captain Pat Cummins running backwards at mid-on after scoring just three runs.
Also Watch: Pat Cummins takes a stunner to dismiss Quinton de Kock in SA vs AUS ODI World Cup 2023 semifinal
With the South Africa score going nowhere, Aiden Markram tried his hand at hitting a few boundaries until he found David Warner at point off the bowling of Mitchell Starc for 10 in just the 11th over of the innings. In the next over, Josh Hazlewood had Rassie van der Dussen nicking off to Steve Smith at second slip for six, reducing the Proteas to a score of 24/4.
Some of the best reactions on X for the South African batting collapse early in the innings are as under:
As of this writing, South Africa are 44/4 in 14 overs after rain interrupted play at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, with Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller on 10 each at better than a run-a-ball.
