Semi Final: New Zealand Vs South Africa Played At Eden Park, Auckland New Zealand 299/6 (du Plessis 82, de Villiers 65, David Miller 49, R Rossouw 39, T Boult 2/53) Beat South Africa 281/5 (Grant Elliot 84*, Brendon McCullum 59, Anderson 58, M Morkel 3/59) by 4 Wickets on Duckworth Lewis Method
Flying Kiwis playing wonderfully entertaining cricket squeezed out strong Proteas in a breath taking, hair rising, nail biting semifinal of ICC World Cup 2015 at Auckland by 4 wickets with two balls to spare. Kiwis will now meet in the finals of the world cup for the first time in their cricket history at MCG in Melbourne against the winner of India Australia semifinal to be played on 26th March . South Africans known as chokers choked again in the rain affected match reduced to 43 overs.
Batting first South Africans piled up an impressive 281/5 runs in 43 overs and the adjusted target for New Zealand was 298 in 43 overs by Duckworth Lewis method .Kiwis achieved target in 42.4 overs when their own son Grant Eliot adopting New Zealand as his home, slogged Dayle Steyn hamstrung midway through the final over across and over the fence. South Africa was cruising before the rain interfered. Incredible de Villiers and dashing du Plessis.
If rain did not dampen the tempo South African could post still larger target > But instead what happened is a fairy tale in the history of Kiwis cricket who now is only a match away from dream world cup championship . New Zealand has played all their 8 matches at home .They will have to play the final for the first time away from home at Melbourne Australia.
The forty thousand adoring fans burst into joy while down and out South Africans left the ground in tears. The match witnessed intense contest of bat and ball all through. Trent Boult had brilliant opening spell when South Africa batted snaring Amla and De Kock very early in South African innings .Then du Plessis and de Villiers were dispatching the kiwi bowlers all over the park in a very aggressive third wicket partnership of 103 till rain interfered and the momentum was lost.
When match resumed 7 overs were reduced .du Plessis was consumed immediately after the match resumed. de Villiers and David Miller riding on a roller coaster set up an impressive 281/5 in 43 overs .de Villiers scored unbeaten 65 in 45 balls while Miller scored 49 in only 18 deliveries. The target for the Kiwis was adjusted to.298 in D/L method.
The target of 297 in 43 overs in a semifinal against a very strong South African bowling side was not easy in any consideration.
But this Kiwi side so far in the tournament has played fearless cricket .The kiwis reply was given blazing start by majestic McCullam who blasted protean attack like a gladiator using his sword to cut across all barriers. He created mayhem at the start striking 59 runs in 26 balls. Morne Morkel could stop the McCullam sprint pricing him out and dealing a double blow inducing inform Williamson playing on a few balls later.
The double blow could hardly impact upon Kiwi surge as Guptil and Taylor kept in touch with asking rate through intelligently rotating strikes and punishing any loose deliveries across the fence. Imran Tahir bowled his leg spinners extremely well. However protean ground fielding looked rugged at times. Few catches were dropped and some run out opportunities were not availed.
The rain soaked out field caused some issues as well. The tensions started growing. Bowlers found it challenging in gripping the wet ball and fielding found it difficult in keeping their feet on the slippery surface while chasing and diving. Every single ball, every single run were cheered. The match created high tension and great excitement. Proteans made some brilliant saves and also made some silly mistakes in the field. Dayle Steyn appeared to get hamstrung.
Morkel and Tahir bowled some outstanding deliveries which missed the edges by inches. The matches reached a stage when both sides were involved in the last minutes dash to get across the rope. In the height of tension South Africa dropped few catches and some high balls dropped in the gaps. Brave Elliot kept playing his strokes.
A stage came when every ball every run became crucial. While Kiwis kept their nerves but Proteans faltered. Few catches were dropped and some run out opportunities were not availed. In a very tense situation Dayle Steyn came to bowl the 43 rd and the last over with 12 runs still required for Kiwis to win.
Old Fox Dan Vittori struck a boundary on the first ball reducing the requirement to 8 in 5 balls, in the next two balls two singles were taken. 6 runs were required in 3 balls. Steyn developed muscle strain. Elliot wrote the script of a hero blasting Steyn out of the ground earning Kiwis the first final in the history of cricket world cup. South Africa must consider them unfortunate.
First the rain interrupted their batting surge, then brilliant McCullam stung them and finally the excitement led them make several unusual mistakes in the field. The golden generation of the South Africa came so near to another opportunity of winning the prestigious tournament but it remained out of sight.
BDST: 1515 HRS, MAR 26, 2015
