The Proteas continued their good form at the ICC Cricket World Cup in India and took a big step towards finishing in the top four in order to qualify for the semi-finals.

Last night the Proteas beat a determined Bangladesh by a massive 149-runs for their fourth win at the World Cup and this has seen them shoot up to second in the standings.

The real tough part will start now with matches lined up against Pakistan, New Zealand and India.

The Proteas won the toss and had a bat first and went on to score 382/5 in their complement of 50-overs.

The opening batter, Quinton de Kocks scored 174-runs for his third century at the World Cup, and it is somewhat hard to believe that before this year's global showpiece he had never reached three figures at the tournament.

Heinrich Klaasen was in sublime nick again with an innings of 90 off 49 balls.

In reply, Mahmudullah scored 111 for Bangladesh before losing his wicket to Gerald Coetzee. The Bloemfonteiner was the pick of the Proteas bowlers with 3/60 as the Tigers were bowled out for 233-runs.

Gerald Coetzee - Cricinfo

The Proteas stand-in skipper, Aiden Markram, said he is delighted with how the batting unit is gelling at the moment.

“I suppose we're just approaching each game and seeing what's probably best to do on the day but obviously the history of the last.

“I don't know how many games it is now, we've batted first quite a bit so I think it's quite easy to get that mantra of ‘they're a bat-first team’.

“We're a team that is happy to chase. Obviously now we haven't done it in a while. So, to do it successfully in an ideal world will be great.

“You can get those reference points again and get those habits going. But whether or not we are going to just decide to chase because we haven't chased in a while, I'm not too sure. We will have to see.”

On Friday at 10:30 the Proteas will face Pakistan in Chennai.

Mitchell Marsh - Cricinfo

Meanwhile, on Wednesday the five-time World Champions, Australia, will be in action against the Netherlands in Delhi.

The Aussies have started to find their rhythm after a poor start to the tournament, while the Dutch have already proven to be a tricky customer to deal with.

A win for the Dutch will put Australia under pressure and also open the door for the defending champions, England.

The Australian allrounder, Mitchell Marsh, who scored 121 against Pakistan on Friday, said the Dutch will definitely not be an easy competitor.

“The teams have got better and I think that's great for world cricket. Certainly, in tournaments like this that can sometimes be pretty long, you see a lot of games that are not exactly close or competitive. “But we've said it multiple times now in this tournament this year, there's absolutely no easy games.

“You go into every game having done all the appropriate homework and hopefully you can come out with a win. So, tomorrow is no different for us.

“We respect the Netherlands - they're playing some good cricket and that will be a tough challenge.”

This match in Delhi is scheduled to get underway at 10:30.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport