Five-time World Champions Australia held their nerves in a thrilling low-scoring World Cup semifinal to beat South Africa by 3 wickets and set up the summit clash against India. The Aussie tail displayed a solid fight as Mitchell Starc (16*) and Pat Cummins (14*) shared a match-winning stand of 22 runs* for the eighth wicket, which shattered South Africa’s dreams at Eden Gardens. Australia reached the World Cup final for the eighth time where they will face hosts India at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
Skipper Cummins hit the winning boundary off Marco Jansen’s delivery as Australia won the low-scoring thriller with 16 balls to spare.
It was another semi-final loss for the Proteas in the World Cup as this time the batters let them down as they were bundled out for just 212 despite David Miller’s century. The bowling unit did put up some fightback but in the end, it was too much for them.
Chasing a 213-run target, Australia were off to a flyer start with David Warner and Travis Head smashing the Proteas bowlers all around the park in the initial overs.
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Warner batted with an aggressive intent in the chase and smashed four sixes and a four during his 29-run knock of 18 balls. However, it was Aiden Markram who got the better of him with his off-break which deceived the southpaw and shattered the stumps.
Mitchell Marsh, centurion from the last match vs Bangladesh, failed to open his account on the big occasion and was dismissed for a six-ball duck by Kagiso Rabada.
Despite the two quick wickets, Head continued his onslaught on the Proteas bowlers and scored his half-century on the tricky batting surface.
However, ICC number 1 ranked bowler Keshav Maharaj came into the attack and got the better of Head on the first ball to give them some hope.
Marnus Labuschagne played cautiously but Tabraiz Shamsi trapped him in front of the wicket to end his gritty stay in the middle for 18.
Star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell had a flop outing as Shamsi struck in quick succession to dismiss him for just 1.
Smith joined hands with Josh Inglish as the duo shared a crucial 37-run stand for the sixth wicket to take Australia closer to the target. When things were going in Australia’s way, Gerald Coetzee, the golden arm for Proteas in the World Cup, got the big wicket of Smith to derail the Aussie’s chase once again.
Josh Inglis (28) also put up some fight but Coetzee struck again with a toe-crushing yorker to put Proteas back in the game.
The onus was on the skipper Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc to hold their nerves and show some batting prowess. The duo displayed great resilience against the Proteas bowlers and helped Australia reach their record eighth final
Earlier, South Africa won the toss and chose to bat first despite the overcast conditions at Eden Gardens. Aussie pace duo Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood took full advantage of the conditions and produced a masterclass of fast bowling with the new ball.
South Africa fell to 24-4 after they elected to bat first at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens before centurion David Miller hit back in a 95-run stand with Heinrich Klaasen (47).
The 45-minute rain break helped South Africa to evaluate their plans as Miller played one of the best knocks of the 2023 World Cup under pressure.
Miller reached his ton in 115 deliveries with a six off Pat Cummins but the Australian captain dismissed him two balls later on 101.
The innings folded soon after in 49.4 overs.
Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc took three wickets each while fellow quick Josh Hazlewood and part-time spinner Travis Head bagged two apiece.
