Even though it was a match outside the country, the packed gallery of Eden Gardens cheered for South Africa that day. The Proteas could not please the fortune tellers despite the support of the locals as well as their visitors. Temba Bavuma’s team fought fiercely with the ball despite giving Australia a small goal. But once again, South Africa’s World Cup mission got stuck in the semis.
At the end of the day, Australia beat South Africa by 3 wickets. With this loss, the Proteas were eliminated from the semi-finals five times in the ODI World Cup.
Aussies also got off to a great start in the run chase after going into the innings break from the lead. However, Bavuma’s team fought back in the match. But the Proteas failed once again under pressure. Australia reached the port of victory with 16 balls left.
Australia’s two openers, Travis Head and David Warner, batted in a flurry in the beginning chasing a small target. The two openers scored 60 runs in 6 overs and put South Africa under severe pressure at the start. Then, Aiden Markram and Kagiso Rabada took two wickets in two consecutive overs to bring South Africa back into the match.
Travis Head and Steven Smith made an important partnership of 45 runs for the third wicket. Keshav Maharaj broke the pair by sending back Travis Head on the first ball. Marnus Labuschagne and Smith’s partnership of 27 runs for the third wicket made the victory easier for Aussies. However, Shamsi quickly returned Marnus Labuschagne and Maxwell.
The pair of Smith and Josh English ended the hopes of South Africa’s return. They both added 37 runs. Gerald Coetzee broke the pair by backing Smith. Smith, who survived for a long time, had to return by playing an innings of 30 runs off 62 balls.
After Smith’s return, Josh was progressing well with Starc. When Australia was 20 runs away from victory, Josh returned to the dressing room. Australia’s wicketkeeper-batsman, who scored 28 off 49 balls, was bowled by Coetzee. However, Cummins and Starc finished the match with a cool head.
Earlier, South African captain Temba Bavuma made a mistake by winning the toss and deciding to bat. The Proteas were in trouble early on against the Australian bowlers. But Heinrich Klassen and David Miller resisted. Klaasen left the field regretting his fifty, but Miller took the century. But even then Bavuma’s team did not see the fighting capital.
Batting first, South Africa scored 212 runs in 49.4 overs in the second semi-final of the World Cup at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday (November 16). Miller scored 101 runs against 116 balls. 47 runs came from the bat of Heinrich Klassen. Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins took 3 wickets each. A pair of wickets for Josh Hazlewood and Travis Head.
Winning the toss and fielding was a logical decision considering the weather conditions at Eden today. Protea captain Bavuma also knew that. But Bavuma decided to bat regardless of the weather considering that if he bats first, he will be able to play without pressure. But the Aussie bowlers were far more challenging than the weather today. Starc-Hazlewood squeezed the Proteas from the start. Before opening Run’s book, Bavuma took the way to the dressing room. Quinton de Kock (3), Rassie van der Dussen (6), and Aiden Markram (10) were then removed by Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.
Proteas lost 4 wickets for just 24 runs. Then, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller took the lead of the team in the fifth wicket. The two made a pair of 95 runs to handle the cannon of Aussie Pacers. The Proteas lost the fifth wicket for the team’s 119 runs. Klaasen was beaten by the spin of part-time bowler Travis Head. He was bowled after scoring 47 runs off 48 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes. Marco Jansen also failed to handle the spinner at the crease. On the first ball, he fell into the trap and returned to the dressing room.
Miller continued to fight by keeping one end. He was accompanied by Gerald Coetzee for the seventh wicket. Miller made a partnership of 53 runs with him. But Coetzee (19) had to leave the field in the 44th over due to regret. A slower bounce by Pat Cummins went past his gloves and touched the arm of Josh Inglis. Field umpire Nitin Menon raised his finger in response to Inglis-Cummins’ appeal. Coetzee took Miller’s advice to get a review because of doubts. But he did not agree. Soon after, television replays showed that the ball touched his arm and was caught by the wicket-keeper, not his glove.
Then Keshav Maharaj (4) could not accompany Miller when he came to the crease. Miller took the century keeping one end. In the end, he scored 101 runs off 116 balls with 8 fours and 5 sixes before hitting Cummins for a six and he was caught by the head. The team’s runs were 203 after losing 9 wickets in 47.2 overs. In the end, Kagiso Rabada’s 12-ball 10-run innings saw the Proteas reach 212 runs.
South Africa – 212/10 (49.4)
Australia – 215/7 (47.2)
Result – Australia won by 3 wickets
Player of the match – Travis Head
Travis Head
South Africa | Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram, David Miller, Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Heinrich Klaasen, Kagiso Rabada, Rassie van der Dussen, Tabraiz Shamsi |
Australia | Pat Cummins (c), Josh Inglis (wk), David Warner, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Marsh, Adam Zampa, Travis Head, Josh Hazlewood |
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