Australia secured their place in their eighth men’s ODI World Cup final with a nerve-wracking win over South Africa in Kolkata, extending the Proteas’ run of semi-final defeats to five.
Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc watched Australia cross the goal line with three wickets to spare in a thrilling chase on the rotating deck at Eden Gardens. After being set at 213 points (eerily reminiscent of his 1999 semi-final, where both teams scored his 213 points and Australia advanced based on their position in the group), Australia won David Miller’s We lost to the South African spinners because of his 101 runs.
David Warner and Travis Head formed a 60-run partnership after the first 38 balls of the innings, with Aiden Markram bringing Warner into the attack with the first pitch. Mitchell Marsh returned to the dressing room for a duck after two overs, and Keshav Maharaj headed over with the first ball of his spell.
At this point Australia were 106-3 and needed 107 more points to win. The batting looked very difficult, with Themba Bavuma’s decision to bat first proving correct, with Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith both struggling to score flowing runs. Labuschagne survived a close LBW call from Tabraiz Shamsi, but the wrist-spinner found his man soon after. Glenn Maxwell soon followed and he was bowled with a terrible delivery to Shamsi.
Smith calmly led Australia to the goal, but had a moment of madness against Gerard Coetzee, momentarily threatening Australia’s chances. With 39 points still needed for victory, he took an ugly shot at the pacer and sent the ball flying into the air for Quinton de Kock to catch. Josh Inglis’ score was still below 200, but it was up to the bowler to get it over the line.
Heartbreak again for South Africa 💔
Australia won by 3 wickets with 16 balls remaining and reached the World Cup final. 🇦🇺
Ain Sofotiger Classshikar of Calkutta. #AUSvSA #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/XUhOt9snid
– Wisden (@WisdenCricket) 16. November 2023
However, with three overs remaining, Cummins calmly scored the winning run off Marco Jansen for four, sealing a three-wicket victory for his team. Australia will be battling for their sixth Men’s ODI World Cup title when they take on India in the 2023 World Cup final in Ahmedabad on Sunday (November 19).
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