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Summary South Africa served up a convincing all-round performance in an emphatic 231-run win over Netherlands in Group B at the World Cup on Thursday.
AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla made centuries in South Africas 351-5 and legspinner Iran Tahir took three wickets in a predictably dominant showing from the hotly favored Proteas.Netherlands was dismissed for 120 in 34.5 overs at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium for successive heavy losses following a 215-run capitulation to West Indies. Opener Wesley Barresi made 44 but Netherlands fell away rapidly to lose its last six batsmen for 20 runs.Amla and De Villiers had combined for a 221-run partnership to take the game away from Netherlands after South Africa was put in to bat in overcast conditions and reduced to 58-2.South Africa recovered emphatically to post the highest ODI total ever at Mohali. Tahir then finished with 3-19 to wrap up South Africas one-sided win and was backed up by 2-19 from allrounder Jacques Kallis and 2-22 from leftarm spinner Robin Peterson. Amla and De Villiers had earlier snuffed out a promising start from the Dutch bowlers with the highest third-wicket partnership for South Africa in one-day internationals.The top two batsmen in the ODI rankings lifted South Africa from a sluggish start at 58-2, following the loss of captain Graeme Smith and Kallis, to an imposing 279-3 by the time Amla fell for his 113 from 130 balls. While Amlas approach in his eighth ODI century was measured, De Villiers was brutal, carving drives through the offside and flicking through midwicket to rush to 50 off just 48 balls. He then accelerated further to power to his 11th one-day hundred off 88 balls, with 10 fours and a six.The pair took South Africa racing away, hitting boundaries to all parts as the sun came out, and the Dutch bowlers early confidence evaporated. The right-handed De Villiers celebrated his second successive century at the World Cup by launching three more sixes off the first three balls of the 44th over from Loots.The huge stand was finally broken when Amla slashed straight to Tom Cooper in the covers. De Villiers was run out five balls later, having hit 13 fours and four sixes, but the damage had already been done.There was still time for JP Duminy to hammer home the advantage with two fours and four sixes in his 40 from 15 balls. He led a rapid 66-run partnership with Faf du Plessis (18 not out) in the final overs before being was caught on the boundary off the penultimate ball of South Africas innings.
