Markram, van der Dussen and de Kock ton up as South Africa trump Sri Lanka in run-fest

A trio of centuries, including the fastest ever in a World Cup, saw South Africa lay down a commanding marker as they kicked off their World Cup campaign with an authoritative 102-run win over Sri Lanka in Delhi.

Progressively more emphatic centuries from Rassie van der Dussen, Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram would in the end prove to be the decisive contributions as a valiant Sri Lankan outfit fell foul of a scary good South African outfit flexing their batting might.

In the process they also etched in several records. Here's a list of some of the key ones:

It was a day for the bowlers to forget, with the game largely decided as a straight shootout between the batters. And in that sense, while the end result may show a pretty decisive loss for Sri Lanka, this is a game that they will feel they could garner more positives than what might have seemed possible at the halfway mark.

Sure, five of their bowlers went at over eight an over - three at nine or more - but a side that had major question marks over their ability to score quick runs gave a good account of themselves in what was always going to be an unlikely chase.

Kusal Mendis set the tone in the chase blitzing his way to a 42-ball 76. His fifty came off just 25 deliveries, and before any of his team-mates had scored a single run - Pathum Nissanka was out castled for a duck, while Kusal Perera remained scoreless as Mendis cut loose.

Mendis would reach his fifty at the team total of 54 - the lowest at which any batter has completed his fifty in men's ODIs (where known). He would also plunder eight sixes - Sri Lanka struck nine in total - inside the first 10 overs - the second-most in a men's ODI innings (where we have ball-by-ball data), one behind the West Indies who hit ten sixes in their first ten overs vs England in 2019.

But once he fell, Sri Lanka's slim chances became even more faint. Fifties from Charith Asalanka (79 off 65) and Dasun Shanaka (68 off 62) kept the flame of hope briefly alive, but the task by that point was always well out of reach. Some late unexpected hitting from Kasun Rajitha then brought the margin of defeat down, which could be key if net run rate comes into play during the latter stages of the tournament.

This though was a day that belonged to the South African batters, namely Markram, whose 54-ball 106 was as an innings of equal parts belligerence and control. How else would you describe a century that quite preposterously paired a control percentage of 90% at a strike rate of 196.29?

Such was his dominance, that it quite honestly overshadowed the two other tons in the innings. Which is quite the statement considering de Kock's came off 83 deliveries, and van der Dussen's off just 103. Not to mention the pair put on 204 for the second wicket, a stand that set the platform for the destruction that followed.

It's arguable that Sri Lanka's only moment of relief in the innings came as early as the second over, when Dilshan Madushanka trapped Temba Bavuma in front of middle and leg with one that ducked in off a good length.

In that sense the opening 10 overs would have pleased the Lankans, who kept a lid on proceedings in that period giving away just 48 runs. But even as Sri Lanka sought to keep their lines and lengths tight, the pair of de Kock and van der Dussen accumulated.

During their 174-ball stand, boundaries were never too difficult to find with loose deliveries dealt with efficiently and even the good balls more often than not turned away for singles. It was a partnership that burgeoned with minimal risk taking.

In terms of breakthrough opportunities, all that came Sri Lanka's way were half chances at best - a missed sharp chance at backward point, a hair's breadth margin on direct hit, and a mistimed chip falling just short of the fielder, were pretty much the extent of it.

As for South Africa, to say they progressed smoothly through the gears would only suffice if the gears available were four, five and Super Saiyan.

After that relatively subdued opening 10 overs, 11-20 would see them tick away at seven an over; overs 21-30 would see a further 88 runs scored; 85 would follow in the next tranche of 10; and then would come the final blow, as a further 137 runs were pillaged in the final 10, to put the most emphatic of exclamation points on an exquisitely paced innings.

Any wickets to fall were off miscues, but even then the respite that usually follows the fall of a wicket soon gave way to trepidation, with each progressive batter just carrying on in an even more devastating manner than the last.

None highlighted this trend more than Markram, who arrived at the crease with a little under 20 overs left and proceeded to take apart the Lankan attack.

A trio of boundaries - including a pair of textbook straight drives - off Madushanka signified his intent early, but he would save his devastating best for Matheesha Pathirana, against whom he would crack three boundaries and a six in a brutal 26-run over near the death. Having brought up his 50 in a relatively modest 34 deliveries, he would then take just a further 15 to reach his century.

The centurions aside, there were cameos that on any other day would have been worthy of more than being a footnote. Heinrich Klaasen, who's been having a year most batters wouldn't dare even fantasise about, ransacked a 20-ball 36, while David Miller berserked his way to a 21-ball 39. Even Marco Jansen helped himself to a maximum during his 12 off 7.

It was as beastly a batting display as you're likely to see, but even more impressive might be the sense that rather than it being a one-off demolition, this South African side exudes the aura that such performances are eminently repeatable.