The ingredients were all there to make it a script similar to that unforgettable semi-final in Birmingham 24 years ago.
If Australia’s never-say-die attitude, persistence and South Africa’s all too familiar tendency to choke had earned the men from Down Under their fourth World Cup final berth back on June 17, 1999, Thursday at the Eden was mostly about the Proteas’ errors that once again denied them a place in the title clash. And gave the Aussies their eighth final entry.
Australia obviously wouldn’t complain as they sneaked home to a three-wicket win with 16 balls to spare and booked the flight to Ahmedabad for the grand finale against India on Sunday.
Opting to bat first after winning the toss when overhead conditions were favourable for the quicks, the South Africans, defending only 213, kept dropping catches in critical situations.
Man of the Match Travis Head during his 48-ball 62 on Thursday. Sanat Kumar Sinha
Australia were in danger of suffering a fate similar to what South Africa had in that 1999 semi-final, when the victory target was 214. Australia’s quicks — Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and captain Pat Cummins — took the bulk of the wickets, while Travis Head struck twice to put South Africa on the back foot again after centurion David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen tried to repair the innings with their 95-run fifth-wicket stand.
South Africa though were still in the game despite openers David Warner and Head, who had a perfect game with both ball and bat, hammering 60 in the first six overs. A brilliant catch at extra cover by Rassie van der Dussen after Aiden Markram castled Warner gave the Proteas some hope.
But at 77/2 in the 12th over, substitute Reeza Hendricks dropped Head at the sweeper region and what followed thereafter were three boundaries from the left-hander, adding insult to injury.
If that let-off on 40 wasn’t enough, Head was granted another life when on 57 by Klaasen at slip off Tabraiz Shamsi. For sure, credit has to go to young Coetzee who, unlike Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, bowled his heart out on an Eden track that hardly had any grass, as well as the left-arm spin duo of Keshav Maharaj and Shamsi, who bowled a perfect chinaman to clean up Maxwell and put the pressure back on Australia.
If only skipper Temba Bavuma, who expectedly flopped again with the bat, had brought Maharaj earlier on a track where the ball spun more as the game progressed...
Towards the end of the game, a youngster from ‘D’ block had invaded the pitch to click a selfie with Miller. The left-hander surely deserves some fan following, considering how he braved adversity.
At the moment though, Miller can only sit and reflect, thanks to his colleagues’ lack of application, poor catching and faulty decisions.
