Australia beat South Africa to reach their eighth WC final
Australia beat South Africa at Eden Gardens in Kolkata to reach their eighth ICC Cricket World Cup final. The Men in Yellow successfully chased down 213 in the second semi-final, with Travis Head, Steven Smith, and Josh Inglis powering Australia. South Africa, despite getting bowled out, rode on David Miller's incredible ton. The Proteas yet again choked in an all-important semi-final.
Ton-up Miller guides SA to 212 against Australia
South Africa, who elected to bat had a horrendous start, losing both Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock within 10 overs. The Proteas were soon down to 24/4 before Miller and Heinrich Klaasen took them past 100. While Klaasen departed for 47, Miller single-handedly propelled SA past 200. He went on to smash a record-breaking century, but the Proteas perished for a paltry 212.
The summary of Australia's innings
SA were off to a flier, with Head and David Warner adding 60 runs. However, Aiden Markram and Keshav Maharaj dismissed the duo in back-to-back overs. Although Australia crossed 100, Head, Marnus Labuschagne, and Glenn Maxwell departed before the 150-run mark. Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj restricted Australia in the middle overs. Gerald Coetzee removed Smith and Inglis, but Australia got home.
A fiery knock from Head
As has been the case, Head took the strike with an attacking instinct. Although Marco Jansen beat the Aussie opener on the very first delivery, he responded with a lofted boundary. Together, Head and Warner took Australia to 60 in just six overs. The former eventually departed for 62 off 48 balls (9 fours and 2 sixes). It was his second WC fifty-plus score.
A valiant knock from Miller
Miller came to the middle after South Africa were down to 24/4. Starc and Josh Hazlewood dismantled SA's top order with thunderous opening spells. Miller took SA past 110 along with Heinrich Klaasen. However, the latter and Jansen departed in quick succession. Miller completed his ton in the 48th over. He smashed a 116-ball 101 (8 fours and 5 sixes).
Miller becomes SA's first centurion in World Cup semi-finals
Miller has become the first South African batter to score a century in the World Cup semi-finals. Before this, Faf du Plessis held the highest score for the Proteas in this regard. He smashed 82 against New Zealand in the 2015 World Cup semi-final. No other SA batter has over 80 runs in the WC semis.
Miller attains these records
Miller now has the joint third-most centuries (6) at number five or below in ODI cricket, with AB de Villiers, Eoin Morgan, Andrew Symonds, and Sikandar Raza. Miller also owns the most ODI hundreds against a team at number five or below. The Proteas batter now has the joint second-most tons in Australia vs South Africa ODIs, with de Kock and Herschelle Gibbs.
Second-most ODI sixes for SA
Miller smashed 5 sixes in his scintillating knock. He now has the second-most sixes for South Africa in ODI cricket. Miller, who now has 138 ODI sixes, overtook Jacques Kallis (137). De Villiers occupies the top spot with 200 maximums.
An unwanted record for SA
As per Cricbuzz, SA's 18/2 in the first 10 overs is now their second-lowest score in ODI World Cups. SA's lowest tally in the first 10 overs with the bat was 12/2 versus New Zealand in the 2007 edition. Notably, SA had also posted 27/5 against the Aussies in the 2007 World Cup semi-finals. 28/2 versus Zimbabwe in 2015 follows suit.
48 dot balls in first 10 overs
SA faced 30 dot balls in the first six overs itself, losing two scalps and scoring eight runs. They failed to hit a single boundary. In the next two overs, SA managed just two runs and faced 10 more dots. In the ninth over, a maiden boundary arrived before the 10th saw one run being conceded. SA faced 48 dot balls in 10 overs.
Third bowler with 60-plus ODI WC scalps
Left-arm seamer Starc was the pick of Australia bowlers, having taken 3/34 from his 10 overs. Starc has become the third bowler in ICC ODI World Cup history to take 60-plus scalps. Starc, who has raced to 62 wickets at 19.24, joins Glenn McGrath and Muthiah Muralidaran in terms of the milestone. Former Aussie pacer McGrath took 71 scalps at 18.19.
Warner becomes second Australian with 1,500 WC runs
Warner scored a quickfire 29 from 18 balls. He smashed 1 four and 4 sixes. With this, he became the second Australian batter to accomplish 1,500 runs in ICC Cricket World Cups. Ricky Ponting (1,743) is the only Aussie with more runs in the competition's history. Sachin Tendulkar (2,278), Rohit Sharma (1,528), Kumar Sangakkara (1,532), and Virat Kohli (1,741) are the others.
Successive 500-plus scores in ODI World Cups
With his first run, Warner became the first Aussie batter to accomplish 500 runs in the competition. Warner now has 528 runs in the ongoing World Cup after scoring 29 versus South Africa. Earlier, he returned with 647 runs in the 2019 competition. Notably, Warner is the only batter with multiple 150-plus scores in ODI WCs (3).
Australia reach their eighth WC final
As mentioned, Australia have qualified for their eighth ODI World Cup final. They reached this stage in 1975, 1987, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015, and 2023. Australia have won the coveted trophy five times (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2015). They will face India in the final in Ahmedabad. The Men in Blue defeated New Zealand in the first semi-final.
