AUS vs SA | Twitter goes wild as Australia trump South Africa in nail-biter to book final berth

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Australia prevailed in a topsy-turvy World Cup semi-final and outclassed South Africa by three wickets to book the ticket to the finals. After the Aussie pacers overcame David Miller’s heroics to bundle out the Proteas for 212, the batters avoided late hiccups and chased down the target in 47 overs.

South Africa backed their strengths in the high-voltage clash against Australia and opted to bat first at the Eden Gardens. However, the ploy backfired as Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc made great use of the overcast conditions on offer and wreaked havoc with the ball, reducing South Africa to 24/4 by the 12th over. With the Proteas in a spot of bother, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller started the rebuild but rain intervened at the 14-over mark with 44 runs on the board. After the break, Klassen and Miller displayed their batting prowess, leading the team to triple digits in 28 overs but soon after, Travis Head dismissed Klassen and incoming Marco Jansen on back to back deliveries to peg the Proteas back. However, Miller carried on the good work, notching up a half-century stand with Gerald Coetzee to keep his team afloat and then the southpaw went on to rack up a magnificent 116-ball century to propel South Africa over 200-mark. Eventually, South Africa were bundled out for 212 in 49.4 overs.

Chasing a sub-par total, David Warner and Travis Head inflicted carnage on the Proteas bowlers, racing away to 60 runs in six overs but South Africa clawed back into the contest, getting rid of Warner and incoming Mitchell Marsh. Despite the fall of wickets, Head continued to take the opposition bowlers to the cleaners and piloted Australia to the 100-run-mark inside 14 overs notching up his half-century in the process. However, soon after, Keshav Maharaj castled Travis Head (62) and then Shamsi sent Marnus Labuschange and Glenn Maxwell packing to reduce the Aussies to 137/5, making the game evenly poised. However, Smith and Josh Inglis weathered the storm and notched up a crucial 37-run stand before Coetzee dismissed the former. Then just when Inglis and Starc seemed like guiding the five-time champions to victory, Coetzee got rid of the wicketkeeper-batter too to keep his team in contention. However, Starc and Cummins maintained their composure and helped the Aussies get over the line. With the triumph, Australia advanced to the final showdown where they will need to conquer hosts India to clinch their sixth World title.

When you are out but gotta do something.

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Casually win

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