South Africa vs Australia LIVE: World Cup result and reaction as Cummins and Starc lead Aussies to victory
Australia beat South Africa by three wickets and reach World Cup final
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Australia will face India in the Cricket World Cup final after overcoming South Africa at Eden Gardens winning their semi-final clash by three wickets.
Proteas captain, Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bat only for South Africa to slip to 24-4 as Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc stuck early with the new ball. David Miller recovered the innings with a stylish century finishing with 101 runs as South Africa set a target of 213.
In reply, David Warner and Travis Head got the Aussies off to a flying start, putting on 60 for the first wicket. When Warner was dismissed for 29, Mitchell Marsh quickly followed and wickets continued to fall making Australia’s run chase a tense affair. Gerald Coetzee struck twice late in the innings leaving it to Starc and Pat Cummins to knock off the winning runs.
Australia advance to the tournament showpiece but face India who have yet to lose in this year’s competition and are favourites to claim the title of World Champions.
Relive the semi-final action below and get the latest odds and tips right here:
And victorious skipper Pat Cummins is the final man in front of the microphone
“I think it it easier out [in the middle] than in the dugout, actually,” Cummins says when asked if he is getting used to seeing his side home in tight fixtures. “It was a nerve-wracking couple of hours, but a great effort. I’m pretty pumped.
“We thought it was going to spin quite a bit. It was a bit gloomy and swinging around early, and the boys bowled beautifully, so I wasn’t too upset at that stage. We talk a lot about our fielding and it wasn’t up to scratch at the start of the tournament.
“[Travis Head] just has this knack of finding a wicket when you need one. It’s been a feature of our tournament, having bowlers chip in at different stages.
“Josh Inglis played it beautifully, I thought, I thought he looked in total control out there against two very good spinners on a tough wicket.
“The good thing is a few of us have been there in a final before, so we can draw on that. You’ve just got to embrace it. The stadium is going to be packed - and pretty one-sided, I think! It’s special. To be out there in a final, in India, in the world’s biggest stadium, it’s a very happy changing room at the moment.”
Temba Bavuma pays tribute to the retiring Quinton de Kock.
“He’s had an outstanding tournament. He would have wanted to end things on a different note but he will remember that type of fight we showed as a team. As players, we’ve enjoyed playing with Quinton, he has dazzled all of us. In South Africa, he’ll go down as one of the legends of the game.”
Temba Bavuma reacts to South Africa
“It’s quite hard to put into words. Congratulations to Australia. I thought they were outstanding for large parts of the game today and deserved the victory.
“I think our character came through, a bit of resilience. A bit of dogfight. Looking at the result of the game, the way we started with bat and with ball was the turning point.
“It was the conditions combined with the quality of the attack. I thought Hazlewood and Starc up front were ruthless. They exploited every bit of advantage that was presented to them in the conditions and put us under pressure. When you are 24-4, you are always going to struggle to get to a competitive total. David Miller’s innings was superb and really captures the character of our team.
“We definitely felt it was competitive. We’d have liked to have started a bit better, they got over 70 in the first ten overs which allowed other guys to play themselves in without scoreboard pressure. I thought Shamsi was terrific and really put guys under pressure, but we needed a lot of things to go our way. We had tough chances that we put down, half-chances, balls bouncing in front of us. When the margins are like that, you need things to go your way. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that Australia put a good display of cricket out there.”
Travis Head is the Player of the Match
And says to the host broadcaster: “It’s hard to unpack all of that. I didn’t move for the last two hours! It was a tense finish to an amazing game.
“We knew how it was going to play. Having had three or four days here, you train and you think about it going into it. I think the wickets have been unbelievable throughout the whole tournament, but we haven’t seen many take spin like that, so we had to play a little bit different. It was a battle.
“I thought that I was going to be here [because of a broken hand before the tournament]. I just want to contribute for Australia and it was nice to do that today. We get another opportunity in a couple of days’ time.”
On dismissing Heinrich Klaasen “I was under the pump! He’s an unbelievable player and smacked me around in South Africa, so when he went four, four, I thought I was under the pump. I’m not sure how that one got through him but it was nice. Seeing the wicket a couple of days ago, I knew I had to be prepared to bowl a few overs. I’m always keen to contribute.”
On the fast start with the bat: “We’ve always had that positive approach. I was disappointed to get out the way I did, it was a good match up with a left-hander against a left-arm spinner if I could have battled through that for a few overs, I could have been in a better position. But it was nice to front-end the innings a bit knowing how it was going to play.”
On the challenge that India will provide: “We’ve got to be on. They are an unbelievable attack. I wouldn’t ever have dreamed of playing in a World Cup final against the best team in the competition so far. Their bowlers look sharp, so I’ve got to be sharp.”
Australia beat South Africa to set up final against India
It feels fitting that two of Australia’s seamers saw them home given how impressively they set the tone first up, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood outstanding earlier to put their side so far ahead in the game. David Miller’s brilliant hundred ensured South Africa clawed their way up to something close to defendable, but Travis Head’s early blitz left South Africa with too much to do.
Australia (215/7) beat South Africa (212 all out) by three wickets to reach the World Cup final
Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc embrace, the coolest of partnerships in the Kolkata heat to break South Africa’s hearts again. Temba Bavuma’s side fought so, so hard to defend an under-par total, their three spinners excellent and Gerald Coetzee impressive again, but Australia edge home. It’s another semi-final disappointment for the Proteas - and it will be India against Australia in Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad.
AUSTRALIA WIN BY THREE WICKETS!
Cut away for four! Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc have seen Australia home!
Australia 211-7 (47), Cummins 10, Starc 16, Markram 1-23 (8) (target 213)
A single to Pat Cummins. Two needed. Mitchell Starc heaves but doesn’t connect.
Australia 210-7 (46), Cummins 9, Starc 16, Jansen 0-31 (4) (target 213)
Thrashed for four! Mitchell Starc crunches Marco Jansen through midwicket and Australia need just three.
Australia 206-7 (46), Cummins 9, Starc 12, Markram 1-22 (7) (target 213)
An edge! But down it goes! A thin inside nick from Pat Cummins but Quinton de Kock can’t take! Is that South Africa’s last chance?
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