Twitter Reactions: South Africa win the thriller to spoil Australia’s party in Manchester

In 1992, South Africa defeated Australia by 9 wickets in their opening game of the tournament. It was skipper Kepler Wessels who led to team to a handsome win with an unbeaten 81 while chasing down a target of 171. But since then, whenever these two teams have met in a World Cup, it has all been about Australia. While some were huge losses, the others were heartbreaking defeats for the Proteas. Though, after 27 years, it is the South African skipper – Faf du Plessis – who led his team to glory yet again.

The 34-year-old led his troops from the front by registering his 12th ODI century. He found just enough assistance from the other batsmen and then the bowlers to register a 10-run win. Thus, South Africa made a gracious exit out of the tournament by registering wins in their final two games.

Faf du Plessis and Rassie van der Dussen lead the charge with the bat

After electing to bat first, the Proteas got off to a good start with the openers adding 79 runs together. While Aiden Markram scored 34, Quinton de Kock went on a make a half-century. But the man who stole the show was Faf du Plessis with a terrific hundred.

However, he couldn’t convert that into a big one and got out exactly after reaching the triple figures off 94 balls. After he fell in the 43rd over, Rassie van der Dussen took the responsibility of finishing the innings. He scored 95 runs off 97 balls as he propelled South Africa to 325/6 in what was their best batting performance of the tournament.

Australia finish second on the points table

Australia was in trouble quite early in the chase. They lost Aaron Finch and Steve Smith for 3 and 7 runs respectively. Usman Khawaja, who had troubles with his hamstring, scored 18 runs. With Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell also departing early, they were reduced to 119/4 in this steep chase. However, David Warner wasn’t to throw the towel in easily.

He recorded his 17th ODI century and scored 122 runs. The left-hander found enough support from Alex Carey who scored a brilliant 85. Yet, their efforts fell short as Australia lost the match by 10 runs. Twitterati had several different reactions to this game. While they praised the efforts of Faf du Plessis and David Warner, some of them wished Kagiso Rabada performed better earlier in the tournament. They even seemed to be excited about an England-Australia clash yet again before the Ashes.

Here is how Twitterati reacted for the Proteas’ win: