Men’s ODI World Cup: Australia suffer humiliating 134-run defeat against South Africa

Lucknow: Australia lost its second World Cup 2023 match as they suffered a humiliating 134-run debacle against South Africa at the Ekana Stadium, here on Wednesday.

This was also Aussies biggest defeat by runs in ODI World Cups. It marked the first instance since 1992 where the five-time champion suffered consecutive losses at the start of a World Cup campaign, first against India in Chennai.

Australia which has only lost 25 of its 96 World Cup matches went down to New Zealand and South Africa in successive matches during the 1992 World Cup.

For the records, Australia had also lost its first two games in the 1983 World Cup (against India and West Indies) and the 1979 World Cup in England.

However, the history of the game also suggests that at one point they were unbeaten for 34 consecutive matches between 1999 and 2011.

In the last one month, Australia has also failed to chase down 300 plus total in ODI cricket, following the defeats on the South Africa tour earlier this year when they lost the series 2-3.

–IANS