Dunya Exclusive: South Africa 'rise' to the occasion
Cricket
Proteas kept the record-keepers busy in their marquee event’s opening match against Sri Lanka
By Salman Khan
The highest score in a world cup, the highest number of centuries in an ODI and the fastest world cup century – South Africa kept the record-keepers busy in their marquee event’s opening match against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
It was not an easy day for those keeping track of records but the cricket fans around the world must have enjoyed every bit of the South African innings. It rained sixes and fours, leaving the Sri Lankan bowlers at sixes and sevens.
The springboks have given a clear-cut message to the world that they will give even the best of competitors a run for their ‘trophy’.
Read more: Thank you Aiden Markram - fans adore fastest ODI World Cup century
On a lighter note, compare the performance to the visuals of the South African captain which went viral just ahead of the tournament. At a pre-event conference, cameras caught Temba Bavuma napping (literally) in stark contrast to other captains who actively participated and expressed resolve to play to the best of their abilities.
As the South African captain’s image went viral on social media, cricket fans reacted to the lackadaisical approach, mostly in a hilarious way through memes. This prompted the ace player to respond to the picture, as he denied he was asleep.
Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter), Bavuma said: “I blame the camera angle, I wasn’t sleeping.”
Let’s leave it there and applause the gutsy performance of Bavuma’s team in the first leg of the tournament.
The score of 428 in an ODI is no mean achievement. By achieving the milestone, South Africa have given a loud and clear message that they are one of the best teams in the world and are sure to advance to the knockout stage. And, more importantly, that they are very much awake!
