Australia defeated South Africa in the second semifinal at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday, November 16, to secure a spot in the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup grand final.
The Proteas captain, Temba Bavuma, won the toss and elected to bat first. However, this was a poor move because they only managed 212 runs after playing their allotted 50 overs.
The Australian openers got off to a scorching start, scoring 60 runs in just 6 overs, giving the mark an air of manageability. Nevertheless, the team led by Temba Bavuma produced a fantastic comeback to force extra time in the match. But Mitchell Starc and squad captain Pat Cummins made sure the team got through it all without any more mishaps.
Talking Points: The centennial of David Miller
With four wickets lost for just 24 runs in the twelfth over, the South Africa side was clearly in serious trouble. But David Miller stood up and assumed responsibility for steering the sinking ship. In order to bring the score up to a respectable total, he first teamed with Heinrich Klaasen (47 off 48), and then with the bottom middle order. Miller reached his century (101 off 116) in the process, but Cummins overcame him.
Travis Head’s overall performance:
The captain passed the ball to Travis Head as soon as Klaasen and Miller appeared to be comfortable in the middle. Not to be outdone, the off-spinner claimed a wicket with his very first ball. Head dismissed Marco Jansen on the very next ball, ending his spell with 2/21 in five overs. When it came time for the chase, Head gave the order to run, scored boundaries for amusement, and did not let the Proteas relax for the slightest. On a pitch where others found it difficult to score runs at a rapid pace, the southpaw scored 62 runs off just 48 balls. Because of his excellent performance throughout the penultimate match, he was rightfully named Player of the Match.
Player of the Match, Travis Head, said
Losing skipper Temba Bavuma said
“Quite hard to put into word. Congrats to Australia, all the best for them in the final. They were outstanding for a large part of the game and thoroughly deserved victory. [Fight] Our character came through. It was a dog fight. The way we stared with the bat and the ball was probably the turning point, we lost it quite badly there. [Collapse] Conditions and the quality of the attack. They were ruthless. Presented with the conditions but they really put us under pressure. We were gaining momentum at that point, we’ve seen how destructive he can be in the latter part of the innings.
David Miller showed what he can do as a player and his mental capacity. Would have liked to have bowled better, it allowed the other batters to play themselves in. Shamsi was terrific, we were competitive but we needed a lot to go right. We had chances – tough chances – but we put them down. Could have been more proactive but you need things to go your way. [Coetzee] As a young guys he was a warrior.
There wasn’t much happening for him to bowl like that and get the wicket of Smith, get us back into the game. He kept on going until he was cramping. [De Kock] Outstanding tournament. Would have wanted to end on a different note, but he’ll remember the fight we showed as a team. We’ve enjoyed playing with him, in SA he will go down as a legend of the game.”
Winning skipper, Pat Cummins said
India
