South Africa 411 for 4 (Amla 159, du Plessis 109, Rossouw 61*) beat Ireland 210 (Balbirnie 58, Abbott 4-21) by 201 runs

Ireland were sent crashing back to reality after South Africa handed them a humiliating 201 run defeat.

The heavy defeat will inflict damage to Ireland’s net run-rate which could ultimately prove costly in their attempts to qualify from the group stage.

Lack of penetrating bowling has cost Ireland thus far in the tournament yet they have been saved by their outstanding batting. Ireland are missing Trent Johnston, their experienced former bowler who would have been crucial. On top of Johnston, they are also missing Tim Murtagh through injury, who would’ve provided swing and control with the new ball whilst Boyd Rankin, capable of 90mph bowling, chose to play for England, only to lose his spot and end up not playing in the World Cup at all.

Without Test status, they will continue to face the prospect of losing players to England.

For the second consecutive game, South Africa crossed 400 runs which left the chasing team with no chance. South Africa’s World Cup campaign revolved around #ProteaFire and their batsman are certainly on fire thus far in the World Cup.

Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis scored big centuries and Rilee Roussouw demonstrated his hitting power late on in the innings.

Amla was dropped on 10 by Ed Joyce at mid-wicket and would go on to punish Ireland. Joyce would eventually take the catch to dismiss him after 200 runs had been scored, 159 of them off the bat of Amla.

This was Amla’s 20th ODI century. He is now only one behind the South African record of 21 held by Herschelle Gibbs and is the fastest in history to reach 20 centuries in just 111 innings.

Amla and Faf du Plessis combined for a 247-run second-wicket stand after Quinton De Kock had departed early. Interestingly, there has been three 247 run stands in ODI history. All this year. All involving Amla.

Du Plessis would score a much-needed 110 at a run-a-ball before being bowled by Kevin O’Brien on the day he became Ireland’s most capped player.

AB de Villiers, fresh off the fastest 150 in ODI history, scored a quick-fire 24 off 9 deliveries before mistiming a reverse-sweep via off-spinner Andrew Brine. When de Villiers was dismissed in the 42nd over, South Africa had just crossed 300.

Eight overs later, they had another 100 runs thanks to a 26-ball 43 from David Miller and a 30-ball 61 from Rilee Rossouw. The fifth wicket partnership between the two left-handers yielded 110 runs from 51 deliveries and took Ireland out of the contest.

The likelihood of Ireland chasing the total was minimal. Especially after a top-order slump to 48-5 instigated by Kyle Abbott and Dale Steyn, playing his 100th ODI in a ten-year career highlighting the lack of international fixtures in South Africa’s schedule.

South Africa will now have selection issues for the tournament as Abbott claimed 4-21 to show he has a capable replacement for Vernon Philander. Rossouw has also claimed JP Duminy’s spot effectively. De Villiers experimented with his fifth-bowling options that could replace Duminy as the conclusion to the game became clear.

De Villiers gained only his fourth ODI wicket as John Mooney dragged on to his stumps.

Only Andrew Balbirnie, Ireland’s player to watch this tournament, and Kevin O’Brien contributed heavily to the scorecard as Ireland were blown away. Balbirnie scored a composed 58 whilst O’Brien scored 48. The 81-run partnership between the two could prove to be crucial for Ireland’s qualification in terms of net run-rate.

Six points may now not need be enough for Ireland to qualify due to their heavy defeat. Therefore, they will look to claim two victories out of their fixtures against Zimbabwe, India and a potentially vital clash - Pakistan in their final group game.

South Africa’s total of 411 was the second highest in World Cup history after India’s 413 against Bermuda in 2007. South Africa also occupy third place with their 208 in their previous game against West Indies.