In a low-scoring match, Australia wins and moves to the eighth World Cup final.
Australia advanced to their eighth World Cup final after defeating South Africa by three wickets in difficult conditions at the Eden Gardens. The team led by Pat Cummins will now play the hosts, India, in the championship match on Sunday in Ahmedabad. However, for Temba Bavuma and company, it was another instance of being both close and far away in a semi-final—the fifth in which South Africa has failed to advance.
Temba Bavuma‘s team chose to bat and was taken to 212 by David Miller’s sixth ODI century, but it was always going to be difficult to defend a low score. Australia had a blistering start, scoring 60 runs beyond the target in the first six overs. As a result, their slowdown and collapse against spin in the middle overs was largely insignificant. In order to get Australia over the finish line, the experienced hands of captain Cummins and Mitchell Starc then gently nudged and nurtured 22 quiet runs.
Maybe the way the teams batted in the first PowerPlay made a difference between them. Australia took just two balls to score their first boundary, whereas South Africa needed 53 balls to do so. And it came from the bat of Player of the Match Travis Head, who amassed 62 off 48 in an innings that may have effectively ended the chase well in advance of its completion. That came from Head, who in just two balls claimed the vital wickets of Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen.
South Africa’s spinners provided their only glimmer of hope during the match. Aiden Markram, introduced into the bowling attack, dismissed David Warner with a hint of spin on the very first delivery he bowled. Keshav Maharaj, who was held back until the 15th over, also struck with his first ball, sending back the dangerous Travis Head.
After the dismissal of Travis Head, South Africa’s spinners, Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj, bowled some quiet overs that ultimately led to the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne. Labuschagne missed an ill-advised reverse-sweep against Shamsi and was hit in front. Shamsi then went on to add the wicket of Glenn Maxwell, leaving Australia at 137/5.
It was always a tough task for South Africa to bowl out Australia, but they were unlucky not to take more catches. Quinton de Kock dropped a couple of tough ones behind the stumps, and the most costly miss was the dropped catch of Head by Reeza Hendricks on 40. South Africa will rue this missed opportunity. Gerald Coetzee, the bowler on that occasion, would come back and pick up the wickets of Steve Smith and Josh Inglis, but South Africa’s total was always modest, hampered by their early collapse. However, they were able to score as many runs as they did, especially from 24 for 4, thanks to Miller’s extraordinary innings.
Batting under overcast skies was something even Pat Cummins admitted wanting to do, but it took only a few overs from Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood to hammer home the point that batting wasn’t going to be easy against the new ball.
Bavuma lasted all of five deliveries at the crease, edging behind a delivery from Starc on nought but it was Hazlewood at the other end who proved to be more of a menace.
Hazlewood’s first spell read 6-1-12-2, the two wickets being that of de Kock (caught at mid-on after a string of dot balls) and Rassie van der Dussen (edged to second slip). Starc wasn’t too far behind at the other end, bowling seven overs on the trot and picking 2 for 18 in his first spell. Markram was the other batter Starc accounted for with an edge to backward point.
Miller and Heinrich Klaasen formed a crucial 95-run partnership, capitalizing on Adam Zampa’s inconsistent lengths during the rain-affected innings. They plundered six sixes off Zampa, with both batters contributing two each.
Just when South Africa appeared to regain their footing with a 44-run stand between overs 21 and 30, Travis Head introduced himself into the attack and struck gold with two wickets in two balls. His accurate spin bowling first deceived Klaasen with a length delivery, bowling him through the gate, and then dismissed Marco Jansen the next ball with an inswinging delivery that trapped him leg before. This highlighted the fickle and challenging conditions in Kolkata.
Miller and Gerald Coetzee forged another 53-run partnership for the seventh wicket, with Miller dominating the scoring. This stand could have extended further had Coetzee reviewed the decision for caught-behind; the on-field umpire adjudged him caught behind off a short ball, but replays showed the ball had deflected off his arm instead.
Miller reached his century off 115 balls, an impressive feat in a World Cup knockout match, but he would later regret not batting until the end of the innings. Two balls after reaching the milestone, Miller fell while attempting to pull a short ball from Pat Cummins, ending a valiant innings.
