South Africa beat Ireland by seven wickets
In the rain affected ICC World Cup Super Eights match at Guyana the South Africans pulled off an easy win. The all exciting match was reduced to just 35 overs due to two-hour rain stoppage.
Ireland was put to bat first and in the 35-over-a-side game they managed to score 152 for eight. The target for the Proteas was revised to 160 runs as per the Duckworth/Lewis method. Shaun Pollock was the first one to strike, the ace bowler took two early wickets that set the ball rolling for South Africa.
Shaun Pollock managed to trap both Irish openers Jeremy Bray for a duck and Porterfield at the score of 14. All the top order Ireland batsmen fell cheaply on low score, Eoin Morgan and Charl Langeveldt and Andrew White tried to rebuild the innings but failed to convert their scores into big totals. Tight bowling by Pollock and Ntini ensured that Irish innings did not gain pace.
Chasing a small total of 160 runs South Africa was in mood of trashing the Irish bowlers but William Rankin stuck early and AB de Villiers was out at the score of zero which saw South Africa on score of one run at the loss of one wicket.
After the early hiccup Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith settled the score together they hit 70 runs in just over 11 overs before Smith was caught by Trent Johnston. Smith scored 41 off 45 balls which included six boundaries. After Smith departure Hershelle Gibbs returned to the pavilion early, he scored only six runs before he was caught by Andrew White, he was Rankin’s second victim.
Kallis and Prince then played patiently to take their side toward a comfortable victory. Proteas chased the target of 160 with three overs to spare. Jacques Kallis got Man of match award for his unbeaten stand of 66. He along with Ashwell Prince, who made 47, put on an unbeaten partnership of 80 runs.
Brief Score: Ireland 152-8 (White 30, Morgan 28) vs. South Africa 165-3 (Kallis 66, Prince 47)
Result: South Africa won the match by seven wickets (D/L method)
Man of the Match: Jacques Kallis
To know more about Cricket World Cup 2007, check the following links:
Points Table
Highlights
Match Scorecards
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