Klaasen, Jansen maul England by 229 runs

Mumbai : Asked to mount the biggest chase in their World Cup history, England's batting collapsed like a pack of cards as they succumbed to one of their biggest defeats against South Africa -- a 229-run hammering in Match 20 of the ICC Men's ODI World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

Chasing a 400-run target, England's innings ended at 170 in 22 overs -- Reece Topley remained absent hurt after injuring his left index finger,

Gerald Coetzee claimed 3-35 and Marco Jansen completed a fine all-round display with a 2-35 haul for South Africa. Lungi Ngidi finished 2-26 to complete England's humiliation. England skipper Jos Buttler asked South Africa to bat first after winning the toss and that proved the biggest mistake of this World Cup for England as they got hammered by the South African batters for 399/7 in 50 overs with Heinrich Klaasen clobbering a sensational 67-ball 109 and Marco Jansen hammering an equally brutal 75 not out off 42 balls after Reeza Hendricks (85 off 75) and Rassie van der Dussen (60 off 61) had laid the foundation for the big score with a well-compiled 121-run partnership for the second wicket.

Brutalised for nearly four hours in the hot and humid conditions, the England batters looked drained off energy while the South African bowlers did not give them any chances as they bowled superb line and length to send back half of the England side back in the pavilion for 67 runs in the 12th over. The match was as good as over for England by that time.

Brief scores: South Africa 399/7 in 50 overs (Heinrich Klassen 109, Reeza Hendricks 85, Marco Jansen 75 not out, Rassie van der Dussen 60; Reece Topley 3-88, Adil Rashid 2-61) beat England 170 in 22 overs (Mark Wood 43 not out, Gus Atkinson 35; Gerald Coetzee 3-35, Lungi Ngidi 2-26, Marco Jansen 2-35) by 229 runs.