ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Ireland vs South Africa

South African players celebrating after taking the wicket of Ed Joyce

Centuries from top order batsmen Hashim Amla (159) and Faf du Plessis (109) helped South Africa thrash Ireland by 201 runs at the Manuka Oval. With the help of 247-run partnership between Amla and du Plessis, their highest in World Cups for the second wicket, South Africa posted 411/4 in 50 overs, the highest total of the current showpiece event.

With the win, the Proteas registered their third victory in four matches, nearing the quarter-finals of the 14-nation tournament. Ireland lost their first match in three games, having beaten the West Indies and the United Arab Emirates.

Here are the player ratings from the match:

South Africa

Hashim Amla

Rating: 10/10

The bearded warrior recorded a career-best 128-ball 159 to bag the Man of the Match Award. In the process, he became the fastest to cross 5000 runs and also the fastest to cross 20 ODI centuries. Unarguably, Amla’s incredible show qualifies as the performance of the match.

Quinton de Kock

Rating: 1/10

Yet another failure for him to add to his poor run this World Cup. He got a thick edge early on, and was back to the pavilion in no time. Quite a disappointing performance from the young lad.

Faf du Plessis

Rating: 9/10

A very controlled run-a-ball century to complement Amla from Faf du Plessis. His innings helped to build the 200-plus partnership and steered the innings towards a huge total.

Ab de Villiers

Rating: 6 /10

He continued at his phenomenal strike-rate and played a small cameo at the crease. However, the biggest surprise was to see AB de Villiers bowl today, and pick a wicket, too!

David Miller

Rating: 7/10

Lower down the order, David Miller chipped in with a 46 not out, at a strike-rate of 200. It was quite a handy performance as far as the total is concerned. His knock ensured that the Proteas crossed the 400-mark once again.

Rilee Rossouw

Rating: 8.5/10

If Amla, Faf, and Miller weren’t enough, Rossouw’s 61 not out sealed the deal for the Proteas. He was instrumental with the bat, making a mockery of the Irish bowlers. To add to that, his fielding was a huge positive today.

Dale Steyn

Rating: 5/10

The pace spearhead grabbed 2 wickets at a good economy rate. Much better than his previous performances this World Cup. He also picked the most crucial wicket of Ed Joyce.

Kyle Abbot

Rating: 8/10

Abbot rocked the Irish batting line-up with figures of 4-21. An inspired bowling performance from the South-African ensured that Ireland did not have any opportunity to settle in.

Morne Morkel

Rating: 6.5/10

Morkel cleared up the tail and sealed the game for the Proteas. He complemented Abbot well and picked up 3 wickets.

Imran Tahir

Rating: 2/10

The spinner went wicketless in his 10 overs, in a performance that wasn’t quite up to the mark. A lot is expected from Tahir, who is hailed as one of the best spinners in ODI cricket currently.

Ireland

William Porterfield

Rating: 1/10

The Ireland skipper could not get off to a flying start. His stay was crucial to Ireland’s fortunes, but it was a disappointing inning from the captain.

Paul Stirling

Rating: 1/10

Ireland’s star batsman departed early, a victim to Dale Steyn's pace. The opener failed to provide a solid opening partnership at the top.

Ed Joyce

Rating: 0/10

He went for a duck, leaving Ireland reeling at 21-3. They could never recover after this early jolt. Disheartening performance from Ed Joyce.

Niall O’Brien

Rating: 1/10

He tried to build a partnership, but his effort was short-lived. Niall O’Brien departed without much contribution either.

Andrew Balbirnie

Rating: 7/10

He got a half-century, perhaps as a saving grace to an otherwise poor batting show by his team. He hardly had any support from his team members, however, to get close to South Africa’s total.

Gary Wilson

Rating: 0/10

The keeper-batsman also went for a duck. A single catch behind the wicket will not salvage much for him.

Kevin O’Brien

Rating: 6.5/10

The man with the fastest century in World Cup cricket tried his best with a 65-ball 48. But by the time he got going, it was too late for Ireland to have any hopes of victory. Kevin picked the important wicket of Faf du Plessis, but leaked the most runs.

John Mooney

Rating: 2/10

Was cleaned up by de Villiers during a part-time spell. He got the first wicket of the match, providing Ireland the early breakthrough, but it was all downhill thereafter.

George Dockrell

Rating: 2/10

Went wicketless and could not contain the Proteas early on. A massive let-down by Dockrell. A late show down the order did not help his cause much.

Max Sorensen

Rating: 0/10

At an appalling economy rate of over 12, Sorensen had a forgetful day. Even a few runs in the end and some tail-wagging cannot compensate for the horrendous show.

Andy Mcbrine

Rating: 4/10

He was the only saving grace in the bowling department. With 2 wickets and a respectable economy, he did better than the rest but couldn’t save his team from the blemishes of an embarrassing defeat.