Australia has qualified for the World Cup final against India after defeating South Africa by three wickets in a tense semi-final at Eden Gardens.
After South Africa’s spinners ran amok in the middle overs of the run chase, Australian captain Pat Cummins and fellow seamer Mitchell Starc got the job done in the 48th over.
Earlier, David Miller cracked his sixth ODI hundred to revive South Africa’s innings after a collapse in the Powerplay, courtesy of an impeccable opening spell from Josh Hazlewood.
The World Cup final between India and Australia gets underway at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, with the first ball scheduled for 7.30pm AEDT.
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Miller ton salvages South Africa’s semis | 01:26
‘RIDICULOUSLY GOOD’: HAZLEWOOD GETS HIS BUNNY YET AGAIN
Quinton de Kock has compiled a very fine one-day career, so while he’ll be sad to leave the format behind, a person he won’t miss is Josh Hazlewood.
In Australia’s semi-final win over South Africa, Hazlewood dismissed de Kock for the eighth time in ODIs.
It would also be the final time, with the diminutive opener calling stumps on his one-day career after the World Cup.
Considering he averaged over 45 in the one-day format across 155 matches, scoring 21 centuries, it probably wasn’t fitting that de Kock would be dismissed for just three runs in his swan song innings.
What is fitting though, is that Hazlewood was the man to dismiss him. The Aussie quick’s eight dismissals of de Kock is three more than the next best bowler, Kiwi seamer Trent Boult.
Overall, Hazlewood has completely dominated the matchup with de Kock, who has scored 126 runs in 173 deliveries against the ‘Bendemeer Bullet’.
Taking into account the eight dismissals, de Kock averages just 15.75 when facing Hazlewood.
No contest.
Most times dismissing Quinton de Kock in ODIs
8 — Josh Hazlewood (AUS)
5 — Trent Boult (NZ)
4 — Mitchell Starc (AUS)
4 — Glenn Maxwell (AUS)
4 — Lasith Malinga (SL)
Hazlewood was one of the stars of the show during the South African innings. He and running mate Mitchell Starc couldn’t have started any better, both picking up two wickets within their initial six-over spells.
Batting teams have fared well in the early Powerplay, but that trend was blown out of the water as Australia dominated with the ball from the outset.
“Josh Hazlewood has been ridiculously good this afternoon,” former Zimbabwe cricketer Pommie Mbangwa said in commentary.
HEAD’S FEARLESS APPROACH PAYS DIVIDENDS
The last time Travis Head faced South Africa in an ODI, he fractured his hand.
Back in September, Proteas quick Gerald Coetzee struck the South Australian on the glove during an ODI at Centurion. He was forced to retire hurt, subsequently missing the first half of the World Cup.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Thursday’s semi-final, Head was asked whether he expected Coetzee to target his vulnerable hand with a bumper barrage.
“Go for it,” he responded.
Head was the only Australian that attended an optional training session at Eden Gardens, finetuning his skills ahead of the most important white-ball match of his career to date.
And it paid dividends.
The left-hander blasted a rapid 62 (48) against South Africa in Kolkata to get Australia’s run chase off to a blistering start. He combined with David Warner for a 60-run opening partnership to knock off a large chunk of the deficit during the Powerplay.
Head was unfazed when South Africa’s quicks bowled short, and he certainly didn’t mind when they pitched it up either. He treated the Proteas pace bowlers with disdain, striking nine boundaries and two sixes, including one hefty slog over mid-wicket while facing Kagiso Rabada.
It was fearless, entertaining batting.
The 29-year-old eventually fell victim to spin, bowled through the gate by an absolute peach by Keshav Maharaj in the 15th over.
However, the damage had been done, with Australia already halfway towards booking its spot in the World Cup final.
Head, having also snared a couple of crucial wickets during South Africa’s innings, was later named player of the match, his second such accolade of the tournament.
“I would have never dreamt of being in a World Cup final, playing against the best team in the competition so far,” Head said during the post-match presentation.
“(India’s) bowlers look sharp, so I’m going to have to be sharp.”
AUSTRALIA’S IMPECCABLE FIELDING HEAPS PRESSURE ON PROTEAS
“This is the highest of high quality in the field.”
Cricket legend Matthew Hayden couldn’t contain his excitement when describing Australia’s fielding display early in the Proteas’ batting innings.
While Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc deserve to be lauded for their superb opening spells, the performance in the field from the Aussies set the table for a couple of key scalps.
In the fifth over, David Warner stopped two certain boundaries with athletic diving efforts as South Africa struggled to score runs after Temba Bavuma’s dismissal in the first over.
The pressure built and it became too much for Proteas wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock, who attempted a rash shot down the ground which was skied up in the air and caught by Pat Cummins.
Former Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting believed that de Kock’s wicket was caused by that “scoreboard pressure”.
“If you think back at the start of this tournament, there was a lot of criticism about (Australia’s) fielding and how sloppy they were in the field, well not today. Not in a World Cup semi-final,” Ponting said in commentary.
“We talk about pressure, and scoreboard pressure, talking about lines and lengths of the bowlers and being backed up exceptionally well in the ring today.
“David Warner in particular in that cover point region has probably saved three or four boundaries already and that’s what led to de Kock’s dismissal.
“(Rassie) Van der Dussen couldn’t get the ball away, pressure built up, relentless line and length bowling from the Australians leads to a bad shot and Cummins does the rest at mid-on.”
Warner wasn’t done, this time adding his name to the scorecard when moving swiftly to his left to brilliantly catch a ball that flew off the edge of Aiden Markram’s bat for the fourth wicket.
Much like the lead up to the de Kock wicket, there were a couple of terrific stops made in the preceding two overs before Markram’s dismissal.
Struggling at 2-22 after almost 11 overs, the difficulty of piercing Australia’s field clearly had an effect on Markram, who threw his bat out at a Starc delivery pitched outside off.
“What one diving save can do and what sort of pressure it can build on the batsmen,” Ponting said.
“One or two balls before, Markram drives one, not out of the middle of the bat but it’s another great diving save. Another yard to Labuschagne’s right and that’s a boundary and the pressure is released and perhaps Markram doesn’t go as hard at that ball that picked out Warner at backward point.
“It’s a really hard thing to explain to the viewers just how much pressure those diving saves can put on a batsman.”
Scoreless Bavuma dismissed in FIRST OVER | 00:41
PART-TIMERS SHINE AS SELECTION GAMBLE PAYS OFF
With Australia electing to leave all-rounder Marcus Stoinis out of the line-up, Glenn Maxwell and part-time spinner Travis Head were likely going to be needed as bowlers to fill the overs.
South Africa was reeling early at 4-24, but Heinrich Klassen and David Miller steadied the ship, cruising towards 4-119.
Enter Head, who was given the ball by captain Pat Cummins in the 31st over in an attempt to create a breakthrough.
It was almost as if Cummins was listening to commentary as former teammates Ricky Ponting and Aaron Finch suggested the skipper turn to the part-timer with South Africa beginning to gain ascendancy.
Head’s first over started ominously, hit for two boundaries from his first two balls.
However, the tide turned with the fourth ball of the over when out of nowhere, Head bowled Klaasen for 47, and then trapped Marco Jansen LBW the very next delivery.
Head goes back-to-back to halt Proteas! | 01:01
Head completely swung the game back firmly in Australia’s favour in two deliveries as Fox Cricket’s Brad Haddin noted during the innings break.
“It looked like a 250-type score until Travis Head came on and picked up two wickets in his first over,” Haddin said.
“Travis Head has got the golden arm. He’s one of those blokes who gets wickets all the time. He isn’t thinking about containment.”
Australian spinner Nathan Lyon added: “I’m going to give Travis Head credit here. He started around the wicket, he then came over the wicket into the rough … and suddenly he’s walked away with two wickets. Well done Travis.”
Head finished with figures of 2-21 off five overs.
Maxwell (0-35 off ten overs) didn’t pick up any wickets, but his spell was arguably just as important, limiting the runs in the middle overs when Klaasen and Miller were seeing them well.
“Glenn Maxwell was doing a great job. He shut the scoreboard down, he looked hard to score against,” Haddin said.
HOWEVER … AUSSIES ARE STILL SUSCEPTIBLE TO SPIN
Australia’s susceptibility to spin was once again apparent in Kolkata on Friday, and it almost cost them a spot in the World Cup final.
It’s been an issue whenever Australia has toured the subcontinent over the past decade, including this year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy, when Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin ran riot.
Pat Cummins’ men struggled against India’s spinners during the tournament opener, with Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav tearing the heart out of Australia’s middle order in Chennai.
And on a used wicket at Eden Gardens, South Africa’s tweakers spun a web around the Australians.
Part-timer Aiden Markram struck with his first ball of the match, removing veteran opener David Warner for 29 after the left-hander came back to a full delivery that crashed into his stumps. The New South Welshman’s footwork is typically quite reliable, but he completely misjudged the length on this occasion.
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Keshav Maharaj also created a breakthrough with his first delivery of the semi-final, bowling Travis Head through the gate for 62.
However, the worst was yet to come.
Marnus Labuschagne, after surviving a marginal LBW decision where he was saved by an ‘Umpire’s Call’ verdict on Hawkeye, completely botched a reverse sweep on 19, trapped on the pads by Tabraiz Shamsi.
In Shamsi’s following over, Glenn Maxwell attempted to pull a short delivery through mid-wicket, with the ball sliding underneath his bat and crashing into middle stump.
South Africa’s spinners collectively claimed 4-89 from 28 overs, almost snatching a historic victory from Australia’s grasp.
Whenever the pitch offers turn, Australia’s batters don’t seem to have a coping mechanism.
On Sunday, Australia will once again come up against Jadeja and Yadav, and for any chance of winning a sixth World Cup title, they’ll need to work out how to tame the spin duo.
