The second semi-final match of the ICC Cricket World Cup (ICC CWC 2023) was played between South Africa and Australia (SA vs AUS) at the historic ground Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Proteas captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and decided to bat first and the entire team was bundled out for 212 runs. While chasing the target, Australia also looked in trouble but in the end the Kangaroo team won and made it to the World Cup final. Australia has entered the World Cup final for the 8th time.
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Captain Bavuma and Quinton de Kock came on the field as opening batting. But Bavuma lost his wicket early in the first over and later De Kock. Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen also flopped and at one point the Proteas team lost 4 wickets for 24 runs but Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, who came to bat in the middle order, slowly took the innings forward. Both the batsmen added 95 runs for the 5th wicket. Travis Head took the big wicket of Heinrich Klaasen (47 runs) and on the very next ball, Marco Jansen was sent to the pavilion for zero.
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David Miller stood at one end, first he added 53 runs with Gerald Coetzee and then made a small partnership of 19 runs with Keshav Maharaj. David Miller completed his century by hitting a six, and also took the team’s score beyond 200. Miller lost the wicket of Pat Cummins and the Proteas were reduced to 212 runs before 50 overs. David Miller played an innings of 101 runs in 116 balls which included 8 fours and 5 sixes. For Australia, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins took 3-3 wickets each, while Josh Hazlewood and Travis Head got 2-2 wickets.
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Chasing the target of 213 runs, David Warner and Travis Head got off to a good start. Together they added 60 runs for the first wicket in 6.1 overs. Warner returned to the pavilion after scoring 29 runs. Soon after this Mitchell Marsh was also out on zero. Steve Smith and Travis Head made an important partnership of 44 runs. During this, Travis Head played a tremendous inning of 62 runs and came to bat in the middle order. Marnus Labuschagne became the victim of Tabrez Shamsi after scoring 18 runs and Glenn Maxwell scored 1 run. Smith stood at one end and slowly took the innings forward with Josh English but Smith returned to the pavilion with a personal score of 30 runs.
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In the last overs, Josh English scored 28 runs in 49 balls while Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins made a slow partnership of 22 runs in 46 balls to take their team to the final. Mitchell Starc scored 16 runs on 38 balls, while captain Cummins scored 14 unbeaten runs on 29 balls. For South Africa, Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi got 2-2 wickets, while Kagiso Rabada, Aiden Markram and Keshav Maharaj got 1-1 success.
The final match of World Cup 2023 will be played between India and Australia on 19 November at Narendra Modi Stadium. After 20 years, once again both the teams will face each other in the World Cup final. In 2003, Australia won the title by defeating India.
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