South Africa hammered New Zealand by 190 runs in Pune to register their sixth win of the competition, and open up the semi-finals race in the process.

New Zealand were bowled out for 167 having opted to chase, losing their third consecutive game in the 2023 World Cup. Marco Jansen took three wickets in a dominant display from the Proteas, claiming Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra and Tim Southee as his victims. Glenn Phillips top scored for the Black Caps with a 60 off 50 ball cameo at the back end of the innings, while eight of their number failed to reach double figures.

Quinton de Kock earlier scored his fourth century of the competition, drawing level with Kumar Sangakkara in second place of batters with the most hundreds in a single edition of men’s World Cups. Rassie van der Dussen also registered a century, his second of the competition, top-scoring with 133 as South Africa posted 357-4.

New Zealand also picked up further injury worries during the game. Matt Henry walked off the pitch during South Africa’s injury with hamstring tightness, while Jimmy Neesham sustained a blow to his finger. He was pushed down the batting order to No.9 as a result. Lockie Ferguson, Kane Williamson and Mark Chapman were unavailable for the fixture with their own injuries.

The result has opened up the contest for a place in the semi-final, with New Zealand now not certain to qualify despite their good start in the competition. South Africa are all but guaranteed to qualify alongside India, while the battle for the other two spots is between Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Pakistan will play New Zealand next in a crunch clash which, if Pakistan win, would put them right back into contention given the hit New Zealand’s net run rate has taken.

Afghanistan are the outside bets for qualification, currently on six points but with a poor net run rate. They still have to play the Netherlands, Australia and South Africa. If New Zealand lose their next fixture against Pakistan, they will likely have to win their final group match against Sri Lanka to outpace the rest of those around them and secure knockout qualification.

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