Publications
Partners
Kolkata - South Africa's JP Duminy put the disappointment of missing out on a Cricket World Cup century behind him, saying he was happy his innings of 99 had helped his side seal a quarter-final berth.
The middle-order batsman looked set for his third one-day hundred on Tuesday but fell agonisingly short in the last over of South Africa's innings against Ireland, caught by Kevin O'Brien off seamer John Mooney.
"I am not disappointed over missing out on a century as I tried to get as many runs as possible for the team," Duminy said after the 131-run win in the day-night match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
"I was trying to hit the ball out of the ground at the end. You never know when a few runs might make all the difference in the game."
Man-of-the-match Duminy said his knock was not the best of his one-day career even though it helped his team recover from a shaky 117-5 to 272-7.
"It was not the best, but surely one of my better knocks considering the circumstances," said Duminy, who has scored 2 174 runs with two hundreds and 13 half-centuries in 76 one-day internationals.
He added 87 for the sixth wicket with Colin Ingram (46), playing his first World Cup match, and 65 for the seventh wicket with Johan Botha (21 not out).
South Africa captain Graeme Smith was full of praise for the 26-year-old Duminy.
"We got ourselves into trouble with some stupid run-outs, but the guys responded well and managed to keep the run-rate at a decent level. JP held the innings together superbly," said Smith, one of two run-out victims.
South Africa, who currently top Group B with eight points from five matches, will meet Bangladesh in their last league game in Dhaka on Saturday.
