"South Africa's net run rate is more than the points England have" - Twitter trolls England after 229-run defeat to South Africa in 2023 World Cup

Defending champions England suffered another thrashing in the 2023 World Cup, this time at the hands of South Africa in Mumbai on October 21.

Coming off an embarrassing 69-run loss to Afghanistan a week back, the side were looking to bounce back. However, things went abysmal right from the get-go, with skipper Jos Buttler making a questionable decision to bowl first under hot and humid conditions.

Despite dismissing the in-form Quinton de Kock off the second delivery of the innings, the English bowlers suffered heavily at the hands of the other South African batters.

Fellow opener Reeza Hendricks, coming in for the ill Temba Bavuma, scored a sublime 85 off 75 balls and was given excellent company by Rassie van der Dussen, who scored 60 off 61 deliveries.

Stand-in skipper Aiden Markram followed suit with a well-compiled 42 off 44 balls before the incredible finishing gig by Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen. Klaasen smashed a breathtaking 109 off 67 balls, his fourth ODI century of 2023, while the tall Jansen stunned the defending champions with an unbeaten 75 off 42 deliveries.

The carnage led the Proteas to a massive 399/7 in 50 overs, a target seemingly improbable even for the vaunted England batting lineup. Yet, the meek surrender from the English top order was the biggest disappointment as the side was reduced to 68/6 in the 12th over at one stage.

Eventually, some runs from the tail helped England avoid the humiliation of dropping to the bottom of the points table by one run as they finished at 170 in 22 overs.

Nevertheless, the 229-run margin was England's worst in ODIs and the second-biggest defeat for a Full Member nation in World Cups. With a lone win in four games and a dismal net run rate, the Jos Buttler-led side are on the brink of elimination from the tournament.

The result came as a surprise to several fans on Twitter, and many used the opportunity to ridicule the defending champions.

Here are some of the best reactions:

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"Leaves us with no room for error" - Jos Buttler

England will have plenty of soul-searching to do after the South Africa defeat.

England captain Jos Buttler was visibly dejected after his side suffered another shocking defeat against South Africa and fell to ninth on the points table after four games.

Following defeat to New Zealand on the opening day of the 2023 World Cup, the defending champions bounced back with a 137-run win against Bangladesh. However, it has been a downhill ride since, with the side being stunned by Afghanistan in the previous game before the shellacking from South Africa.

At the post-match presentation, Buttler spoke about England failing in all departments in their hammering.

"Incredibly disappointing. We were well beaten. We have come here to play our best cricket. Lots of things didn't go to plan in the first innings. Reece picked up the injury. The boys fought hard. We could have restricted to 340-350, could have been a good chase. Incredibly tough under the heat," said Buttler.

"Could have been a good chase had we gotten off to a good start. The humidity was one of the challenges. Was tough. We needed to get off to a very good start. Couple of dismissals down the leg-side didn't help. Leaves us with no room for error. Need to win every game from here on," added Buttler.

The defeat leaves England likely needing to win all their remaining five games while hoping for other results to go their way to garner hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.

They will take on the 1996 World Champions, Sri Lanka, in their next outing at Bengaluru on Thursday, October 26.