England suffered their biggest defeat ever in their history in the ODI World Cup as they lost by 229 runs to South Africa at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday. Jos Buttler’s men conceded 399 runs, and while chasing a mammoth 400-run total, they folded for a paltry 170 runs.
Such was the embarrassment of the defeat that number 10 batter Mark Wood was the highest run-scorer for his side as he smashed 43 in just 17 balls, whereas Gus Atkinson also hit a quickfire 35-run knock otherwise the score would have looked even more lopsided.
After South Africa’s massive win, former Indian openers Aakash Chopra and Wasim Jaffer launched sly digs at England as the defending champions slumped to their third defeat of the ODI World Cup 2023.
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While Chopra in his assessment on social media wrote that England were ‘dire’, Jaffer shared yet another hilarious meme, using the popular show ‘peaky blinders’ reference giving Buttler and Co. a harsh reminder of ‘expectations vs reality’.
Protea FireEngland dire #EngvSA #CWC23— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 21, 2023
The Angrez expectation vs reality this World Cup #SAvENG #CWC2023 pic.twitter.com/MAPeqi2guf— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 21, 2023
Chopra further predicted that India, New Zealand and South Africa will be the three teams who will most likely qualify for the World Cup semifinals, and the rest of the chasing pack are expected to fight it out for the fourth spot.
“Top 3 teams have looked cut above the rest and are likely to occupy these slots till the end…positions might change but will be shocking if one of India-NZ-SA doesn’t qualify for SF. So…the tussle will be between Australia, Pakistan and England to reach the top-4,” wrote Chopra on social media platform X.
Top 3 teams have looked cut above the rest and are likely to occupy these slots till the end…positions might change but will be shocking if one of India-NZ-SA doesn’t qualify for SF.So…the tussle will be between Australia, Pakistan and England to reach the top-4. #CWC23— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 21, 2023
England had an outing to forget as they failed to deliver with the ball, Heinrich Klaasen scored a century and would go on to pick up the Man of the Match for his exploits, while Reeza Hendricks had also smashed 85 runs earlier.
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Marco Jansen hit 75 runs and picked up two wickets as well while Gerald Coetzee got three scalps as England’s top order collapsed to 34/4 and never really recovered after that.
Buttler and Co. have fallen to ninth place in the ODI World Cup 2023 points table after four games, and their remaining five matches are all must-win games for the defending champions if they hope to advance into the semifinals.
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