Travis Head's two wickets of consecutive deliveries changed the complexion of the semi-final match between South Africa and Australia.
Australia had already got South Africa reeling but after a steady partnership from David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen, it seemed all was fine for the Proteas. But part-timer Travis Head turned the game towards their favour once again as he scalped two wickets in an over. Head bagged the wicket of Klaasen and Marco Jansen, was hit for two fours in his first two deliveries. (Match Blog | Scorecard | Streaming | Preview | Key Battles)
South Africa, who have had a poor record in the semi-final of the World Cups, were again put to the test by the Aussies. Temba Bavuma had won the toss and opted to bat first, despite conditions favouring the bowlers. As the Proteas have a good record when batting first, Bavuma hoped to set a decent target for the five-time champions.
However, the South African batting had no answers to the Aussie onslaught as the pacers ran through their batters. Temba Bavuma was out in the first over by Mitchell Starc. Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram failed to make an impact as they too were dismissed cheaply. South African top order crumbled and they found themselves at 24 for four wickets at one point of time.
South African pair of Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller came together to stabilize the innings and also hit Adam Zampa for few boundaries as the duo hit the Australian spinner for 40 runs in five overs.
That's when Pat Cummins decided to bring in Head and his off-spin did the trick as he bowled Klaasen and then trapped Jansen plumb in-front to leave the Proteas reeling and give Head a chance of grabbing a historic hat-trick.
However, Gerald Coetzee well defended the hat-trick ball for the Proteas.