South Africa vs Australia, 2nd Semi-Final (2nd v 3rd) - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Mark your calendars if you haven't already - November 19th will see India go up against Australia in the 2023 Cricket World Cup final at Ahmedabad. 47 games later, we have our finalists and they have been the two best sides of the tournament. India head into it on a 10-match winning-streak and Australia have been unbeaten for 8 games, it sure is going to be an absolute cracker. If you were at the Eden Gardens today, well, you certainly got your money's worth. This will go down amongst the great battles these two sides have had, particularly in World Cup semi-finals. Unfortunately for South Africa, they end up on the wrong side of it for the third time. They can go back with their heads held high though, they gave it everything in the tank and there will be a sense of fulfilment amidst the inevitable grief. That's it from us here. It was an absolute treat to bring all the action to you and we hope you had a jolly good time. We'll see you back here for the final on the 19th, until then, this is Anurag Hegde signing off on behalf of Akshay Maanay, Nikhil Jd and V Harish. Take care and goodbye.

Pat Cummins | Australia captain: I think it was easier out there than sitting in the dugout. Nerve-wracking couple of hours but it was good to get the result. Wasn't expecting Starc and Hazlewood to bowl so much early. We knew it was going to spin later on but there was a bit of cloud cover so wasn't too disappointed about bowling first. We talk a lot about our fielding, probably wasn't up to standard at the start of the tournament but we were fantastic today. Specially Warner who's 37. Travis Head was the man today, to take that crucial wicket in the middle overs. Inglis played that beautifully, he looked in total control out there, especially against two quality spinners. Few of us have played in a final before, couple of other guys in a T20 World Cup final, the stadium is going to be packed, mostly going to be one-sided but it's about embracing it. 2015 World Cup was a career-highlight, so to be playing another final in India, we are very happy as an unit, can't wait.

Temba Bavuma | South Africa captain: Cannot put it into words, first of all congratulations to Australia. Good luck to them in the final. They played really well today. Our character came through today. We showed a lot of resilience. The way we started with the bat and the ball was the telling point, that's where we lost the game. The conditions combined with the quality of their attack, they really put us under pressure. You're always going to struggle to put up a competitive total when you're 24/4. We were gaining some momentum when Miller and Klaasen were out there but unfortunately he (Klaasen) couldn't carry on a bit longer. Miller's innings was superb, really highlights the character of the entire team, it was extraordinary to do that in such a pressure situation and in a World Cup semi-final. They got 70-odd in the first 10 and that really allowed the rest of the guys to settle. Markram and Maharaj were fantastic and they really put them under pressure. We had chances, tough chances that we put down, it could've been a bit close had we held on to them. As a young guy, he (Coetzee) really was the warrior for us, there wasn't much happening for the seamers then but for him to come round the wicket and to take the wicket of Smith was incredible. He was cramping but he still wanted to keep bowling. Quinton would've probably wanted to end his career on a different note, despite the result I think he'll remember his time. He'll go down as one of the legends in South African cricket.

Spare a thought for Quinton de Kock too, his ODI career comes to an end with that. It's been a fantastic saga and the ODI chapter of his career closes. 155 games, 6770 runs at an average of 45.74 and 21 centuries - he'll go down as one of the greatest players not just for South Africa but in all of ODI cricket. Not quite the end he would've hoped for but he can bow out with a feeling of contentment, it's been a fantastic career.

All stats courtesy of our hard-working legend Roshan Gede

It will be an India vs Australia final for the second time in World Cups (after 2003); the only other instance of two teams facing off in a CWC final twice featured Australia and Sri Lanka (1996 and 2007).

Lowest win-margins in World Cup knockouts (by wickets)
3 wickets - AUS vs SA, Kolkata, 2023 SF
4 wickets - PAK vs NZ, Auckland, 1992 SF
4 wickets - NZ vs SA, Auckland, 2015 SF (1 ball remaining, DLS)
4 wickets - AUS vs ENG, Leeds, 1975 SF

Most defeats in World Cup semi-finals
7 - New Zealand
4 - India
4 - Pakistan
4 - South Africa

Most wins in a single World Cup edition
11 - Australia (2003)
11 - Australia (2007)
10* - India (2023)
9 - India (2003)
8 - Sri Lanka (2007)
8 - New Zealand (2015)
8* - Australia (2023)

AUS vs SA in ODIs since 2016
Matches: 22
Won by SA: 16
Won by AUS: 5
NR: 1
Before today, South Africa had won four consecutive ODIs against Australia - all by 100-plus runs - three in their come-from-behind series win at home in September, before a 134-run win in the round-robin game in Lucknow.

Teams qualifying for World Cup finals most often
8 - Australia
4 - England
4 - India
3 - West Indies
3 - Sri Lanka

Most wickets in a World Cup edition for South Africa
20 - Gerald Coetzee (2023)
17 - Lance Klusener (1999)
17 - Morne Morkel (2015)
17 - Marco Jansen (2023)

Most wicketkeeping dismissals in a World Cup edition
21 - Adam Gilchrist (2003)
21 - Tom Latham (2019)
20 - Alex Carey (2019)
20 - Quinton de Kock (2023)
17 - Kumar Sangakkara (2003)
17 - Adam Gilchrist (2007)
Quinton de Kock also became the only wicketkeeper to achieve a double of 500-plus runs and 20 dismissals in a single World Cup edition.

SA bowling today
Rabada and Jansen: 1/76 in 10.2 overs, ER:7.35
Others: 6/136 in 37 overs, ER: 3.68

Australia batting today
Openers: 91(66), SR: 137.87
Others: 107(220), SR: 48.63

Travis Head | Player of the Match: Hard to unpack all of that. Tense finish, amazing game. Didn't move from the seat for the last part. We knew how it was going to play, we had three or four days here. We haven't seen such spin, we knew we had to battle. I thought I wasn't going to be here (after the hand injury), but I am happy to contribute for Australia, nice to be here. Straight as they came (Klaasen dismissal). He (Klaasen) smacked me, was under the pump, but it was nice to get his wicket. I was prepared to bowl a few overs, always keen to contribute with the ball. We have had that positive approach to keep the pace rolling. Disappointed for the way I got out, that (vs Maharaj) was a match-up against a left-arm spinner, but wasn't to be. It's an unbelievable attack, their bowlers look sharp and they (India) have been one of the best teams in the competition, never dreamed of playing a World Cup final against them.

Did Rabada have a niggle? The fact that he didn't bowl towards the end suggested that he wasn't fully fit. A lot of things will plague South Africa when they look back on this game. Firstly, they didn't quite apply themselves well enough with the bat. Then there were numerous half chances that they simply had to hold on to while defending such a small total. Jansen and Rabada were unpardonably indisciplined too right at the start, they leaked too many runs and conceded too many extras and that set the tone for Australia. What if Bavuma had introduced spin earlier? What if Rabada was fully fit? What if de Kock had held on to that nick off Cummins right at the end? Unfortunately, as impressive as it's been, that's how their campaign will end - what if?

But that's when Josh Inglis came out and played probably the most important knock of his career yet. He batted brilliantly along with Smith who was at the other end and the duo stitched a crucial partnership. They were patient against the spinners and soaked up all the pressure while displaying exemplary technique. Just when it looked like Australia would cruise home, Gerald Coetzee struck double blows to send jitters into the Australians camp. Bowling 8 overs on the trot in sweltering heat, Coetzee mustered up courage and energy to first dismiss Smith and then Inglis. But it was skipper Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc that held their nerve till the end to take Australia home and to their 8th World Cup final.

22:10 Local Time, 16:40 GMT, 22:10 IST: What a game! Fitting of a semi-final? You bet! It ends in heartbreak for South Africa and their record in World Cup knockouts continues to look bleak and the juggernaut that are Australia march on to the final with their 8th successive win for the competition. The thrills and the spills, this game had it all. The scorecard might not tell you that if you come back to this game later but it was a nail-biter in every sense of the word. South Africa fought hard, they fought valiantly and tirelessly but it just wasn't enough to go past Australia. The fact that South Africa took the game this deep with just 212 on the board deserves a lot of credit in itself but at the end of the day, they cannot hide from the fact that 212 was at least 20-30 runs short on this surface. Head and Warner got Australia off to a flier and the work they did at the top of the order could well have made all the difference. It was Markram that broke the stand and Maharaj got rid of the dangerous Head to bring South Africa back into the game and it kept oscillating between the two sides ever since. Shamsi and Maharaj found extensive turn and Labuschagne and Maxwell fell in quick succession to leave Australia on 119/5.

Marco Jansen to Cummins, FOUR, he's done it! Pat Cummins hits the winning runs and Australia are through to yet another Cricket World Cup final! Short of a length outside off, Cummins hung back and opened the face of the blade, used the pace and beat backward point and it raced away to the fence