Rilee Rossouw makes history; becomes first South African batter to score century in T20 World Cup
The South African tormented the Bangladeshi bowlers, becoming the first batter to score a century in this year’s World T20.
Rillie walked in at 3 in the second over, joining veteran Quinton De Kock, following Skipper Bavuma’s poor form. The duo took a few overs but managed to score at a rate of 10 runs per over toward the end of the mandatory powerplay.
They forged an alliance that irked the bowlers, who didn’t appear to have any answers. The ever-consistent De Kock blasted the bowlers out of the park as South Africa’s standout player. They finished up with a 168-run partnership as South Africa was on course for a record-breaking score at the end of the 15th over. Rossow hit a century, becoming the first batter in this year’s competition to do so.
The new batters never really got going as South Africa achieved a magnificent 205/5 in 20 overs after deciding to bat first, thanks to Rossouw’s knock. Quinton De Kock (63) and Rilee put on a 168-run second-wicket partnership.
This feat was made possible by the Proteas southpaw during his team’s Group 2, Super 12 match against Bangladesh in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Rilee whacked 109 off 56 balls, including seven fours and eight sixes.
Rilee Russouw makes and breaks T20I records
Rilee had earlier this month scored an undefeated 100* against India in the third T20I of the just-finished series.
He set two records on Thursday when he smashed 109 runs against Bangladesh. He became the first South African batter to hit a century in an ICC T20 World Cup event, as well as the first full-member team batter to hit two consecutive hundreds in the T20I format.
Litton Das (34) top-scored for Bangladesh as the Proteas bowled them out for 101 in 16.3 overs. Anrich Nortje (4/10) was South Africa’s most successful bowler, while Tabraiz Shamsi (3/20) took three wickets.
