WC: South Africa look too strong for Netherlands

South Africa are making quite a statement at the World Cup, playing entertaining cricket and plundering tons of runs as they steamroll rival teams. As the Proteas take on the Netherlands in this hilly paradise on Tuesday, the perennial under-performers and ‘chokers’ have shown in the last two games their determination to go the distance in the tournament. Their 102-run win against Sri Lanka in the opener in New Delhi after putting a record 428/5 on the board, followed by 134-run victory against five-time champions Australia in Lucknow, have made South Africa the team to beat in the competition. From staying under the radar in the lead-up to the ODI showpiece to becoming high-flyers, the Proteas have started playing to potential and will be firm favourites against the Dutch. Unlike the Australian and England cricket teams, whose patchy performance so far has left a lot to be desired, the South Africans have come out with full combat capabilities -with the likes of wicket-keeping stalwart Quinton de Kock, top-order batter Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram making a massive impact here. The trio smashed a century each against Sri Lanka to pile up a mountain of runs with Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller playing useful cameos in the 428-run total.