Manchester, Jul 6 (UNI) Riding on brilliant innings of Faf du Plessis 100 off 94 and Rassie van der Dussen 95 off 97, South Africa posted a total of 325-6 in 50 overs against Australia in the World cup match here at the Old Trafford on Saturday.
After opting to bat, openers Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram gave South Africa an explosive start.
The duo of de Kock and Markram scored 73 runs in the first powerplay and dominated the Aussie attack. In the 12th over, Nathan Lyon got rid of Aiden Markram to give Australia their first wicket.
After de Kock's wicket, South Africa captain Faf du Plessis joined Quinton de Kock who looked in fine touch. Quinton played some great shots and took Proteas to 102/1 in 15 overs.
Meanwhile, Quinton de Kock completed his 24th ODI fifty. However, he couldn't continue his innings longer and got out to Nathan Lyon after scoring 52 runs off 51 balls.
Then, Skipper Faf du Plessis took the charge and kept his team on track for a big total. He got the most able support from the other end from Rassie van der Dussen.
In the meantime, Faf du Plessis completed his third successive fifty in this World Cup and took his team to 172/2 in 30.3 overs.
Moving ahead, both the batsmen kept on thrashing the Aussie bowlers and were set for the strong finish. Rassie van der Dussen also got his 7th ODI fifty leaving South Africa at 251/2 in 41 overs.
Eyeing for a big total, Faf du Plessis played some lusty shots and completed his 12th ODI century in just 93 balls taking Africa to 260/2 in 42.2 overs.
However, Faf du Plessis walked to the pavilion on Jason Behrendorffs's ball. du Plessis and van der Dussen stitched a partnership of 151 runs for the third wicket.
JP Duminy joined van der Dussen on the crease after du Plessis wicket. Playing his final ODI for South Africa, Duminy could only score 14 runs and got out to Starc.
In the end, Rassie van der Dussen played a crucial knock of 95 off 97 balls, leading South Africa to a total of 325/6 in 50 overs.
For Australia, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon took two wickets each while Jason Behrendorff and Pat Cummins claimed one wicket apiece.
UNI XC AVK AKC 2208