World Cup 2015: Road to semi-finals: South Africa

Tags: WC Cricket 2015, South Africa, Semis

Published on: Mar 23, 2015

As South Africa prepare to face New Zealand in the first semi-final of the 2015 World Cup at Auckland

As South Africa prepare to face New Zealand in the first semi-final of the 2015 World Cup at Auckland, we look back at how the Proteas have made it this far.

Beat Zimbabwe by 62 runs at Hamilton: Unbeaten centuries from David Miller and JP Duminy took South Africa to 339 batting first, after a poor start. Imran Tahir then took three wickets to keep Zimbabwe down 277 as South Africa got off to a winning start.

Lost to India by 130 runs at Melbourne: South Africa tasted a shock defeat against the Indians in their second match. Bowling first, they conceded 307 runs, and then were bowled out for 177, with only Faf du Plessis crossing 50. The run outs of de Villiers and Miller proved to be major turning points.

Beat West Indies by 257 runs at Sydney: Batting first, South Africa blazed to 408 for 5 as AB de Villiers smashed 162 from merely 67 deliveries. In response, 151 was all West Indies got as Chris Gayle fell early, and Imran Tahir scalped five wickets in a memorable bowling display.

Beat Ireland by 201 runs at Canberra: For the second game in a row, South Africa crossed 400 batting first. This time, they did not need AB to do much as Hashim Amla made 159 and du Plessis 109 as they posted 411. In the bowling Kyle Abbott claimed four scalps and Morne Morkel three as Ireland were kept down to 210.

Lost to Pakistan by 29 runs (D/L) at Auckland: After two smashing wins, South Africa were brought down to earth by Pakistan. They bowled first and restricted Pakistan to 222, with Dale Steyn picking up three and Morkel and Abbott two each. However, they crumbled in the chase and were dismissed for 202 in spite of AB de Villiers' 77 from 58. The Pakistan pace bowlers were all over the South Africans as Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz and Rahat Ali all claimed three wickets each.

Beat UAE by 146 runs at Wellington: South Africa returned to their winning ways against UAE. De Villiers made 99 and Farhaan Behardien 64 as South Africa posted 341 for 6 batting first. The Proteas bowlers then had it easy as UAE were kept down to 195. De Villiers claimed two wickets with the ball as well as South Africa had it all their way.

Beat Sri Lanka by 9 wickets at Sydney: South Africa registered their first knockout win in the World Cup by defeating Sri Lanka in the quarters. Bowling first, they bowled out Sri Lanka for merely 133; Kumar Sangakkara was restricted to a painstaking 45. Imran Tahir again starred for South Africa with four wickets, and JP Duminy was a surprise hero with three, a hat-trick effort. Quinton de Kock then roared back to form with a feisty 78 not out from 57 balls as South Africa romped home by nine wickets.

--By A Cricket Analyst

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