Australia will play England in the ICC World Cup 2019 semi-finals after the defending champions suffered a dramatic 10-run loss to South Africa at Old Trafford on Saturday (July 6). Defeat on the penultimate ball meant Australia, who had already qualified for the semis, failed to take top spot as India climbed to the No. 1 position after beating Sri Lanka earlier on Saturday. Get highlights of Australia vs South Africa here (SCORECARD | IND v SL HIGHLIGHTS | POINTS TABLE | FULL SCHEDULE)
02:23 hrs IST: That's it. Thank you for joining us!
Faf du Plessis, Player of the Match: "Always a pleasure playing against Australia and a nice, close game. We at least wanted to end with a small smile. Rassie's innings was a great example for young batters. He was on 5 off 30 balls or something but hung in there. To hang in a period shows maturity. They're champion human begins. Immy is like the heartbeat of the team and JP is the father figure of the team and we will miss them. But extremely happy that we can send greats like that with wins."
01:52 hrs IST: OUT! That's it. South Africa win by 10 runs. Australia finish second on the points table. They'll face England at Birmingham on July 11 (Thursday). India, on the other hand, will take on New Zealand on July 9 (Tuesday) in Manchester.
01:47 hrs IST: Rabada removes Khawaja and Starc. Finishes with 3/56. What an over! Australia are 308/9 after 49 overs, need 18 off 6.
01:40 hrs IST: Costly over from Morris, 17 off it. Australia are 301/7 after 48 overs, need 25 off 12. Khawaja 18*, Starc 16*
01:35 hrs IST: Very good over from Rabada, just seven off it. Australia are 284/7 after 47 overs, need 42 off 18.
01:31 hrs IST: OUT! Carey c Markram b Chris Morris 85(69) [4s-11 6s-1]. Khawaja comes back to the crease. Australia are 277/7 after 46 overs, need 49 off 24.
01:25 hrs IST: OUT! Cummins c Duminy b Phehlukwayo 9(15) [4s-1]. Fine over, just five off it. Australia are 274/6 after 45 overs, need 52 off 30.
01:17 hrs IST: Another expensive over, this time from Shamsi. 12 off it. Australia are 269/5 after 44 overs, need 57 off 36. Carey 83*, Cummins 8*
01:14 hrs IST: Costly over from Tahir, 17 off it. Australia are 257/5 after 43 overs, need 69 off 42. Carey 72*, Cummins 7*
01:10 hrs IST: Wonderful over from Shamsi, only four off it. Australia are 240/5 after 42 overs, need 86 off 48. Carey 60*, Cummins 2*
01:06 hrs IST: A wicket and thirty-seven runs off the last five overs. Australia are 236/5 after 41 overs, need 90 off 54. Carey 58*, Cummins 1*
00:59 hrs IST: OUT! Warner c Chris Morris b Pretorius 122(117) [4s-15 6s-2]. What an innings! Has given Australia some chance.
00:55 hrs IST: FOUR! And that's a half-century for Carey. Australia are 227/4 after 39 overs, need 99 off 66.
00:48 hrs IST: Warner, Carey piling up runs at will. 96-run partnership off just 77 balls. Australia are 215/4 after 37 overs, need 111 off 78.
00:43 hrs IST: Sixteen off the last 12 deliveries. Australia are 199/4 after 36 overs. Warner 109*, Carey 36*
00:36 hrs IST: FOUR! And that's a century for Warner - 17th in ODIs. What a player! Australia are 183/4 after 34 overs.
00:32 hrs IST: Morris comes back into the attack. Can he strike?
00:28 hrs IST: Tahir drops Carey off his own bowling. How costly will that prove to be? Australia are 174/4 after 33 overs. Warner 93*, Carey 28*. Time for drinks!
00:20 hrs IST: Thirty-one runs off the last five overs. Australia are 157/4 after 31 overs. Warner 88*, Carey 17*
00:14 hrs IST: South Africa just a couple of wickets away from leaving the Aussies in all sorts of trouble.
00:07 hrs IST: Only six runs off the last two overs. Australia are 131/4 after 27 overs. Warner 71*, Carey 8*
23:59 hrs IST: OUT! Maxwell c de Kock b Rabada 12(20) [4s-1]. Australia are 125/4 after 25 overs.
23:54 hrs IST: Solid over from Shamsi, three off it. Australia are 119/3 after 24 overs. Warner 67*, Maxwell 12*
23:51 hrs IST: Slowly but steadily a partnership building between Warner and Maxwell. Have to say this stand will hold the key to Australia's chances.
23:42 hrs IST: A wicket and 26 runs off the last five overs. Australia are 107/3 after 21 overs. Warner 61*, Maxwell 6*
23:34 hrs IST: WICKET! Stoinis run out (Rabada/de Kock) 22(34) [4s-4]. Maxwell comes to the crease. Australia are 95/3 after 19 overs.
23:28 hrs IST: Single and that's a half-century for Warner. Runs keep coming from him. Australia are 91/2 after 18 overs.
23:23 hrs IST: Just three runs off Tahir's fourth. Australia are 84/2 after 17 overs.
23:17 hrs IST: SIX! Short of a length delivery from Morris, Warner gets into position early and pulls it over mid-wicket for a maximum. Australia are 81/2 after 16 overs. Drinks are on the field now.
23:12 hrs IST: Costly over from Pretorius, nine off it. Australia are 72/2 after 15 overs. Warner 39*, Stoinis 15*
23:08 hrs IST: Twelve off the last two overs. Australia are 63/2 after 14 overs. Warner 34*, Stoinis 11*
23:00 hrs IST: Morris keeps things tight. Australia are 51/2 after 12 overs.
22:53 hrs IST: Another nice over from Rabada, five off it. Australia are 44/2 after the end of first Powerplay. Warner 23*, Stoinis 4*
22:46 hrs IST: Only six runs off the last 12 balls. Australia are 39/2 after 9 overs. Warner 22*, Stoinis 0*
22:38 hrs IST: OUT! Smith lbw b Pretorius 7(6) [4s-1]. Australia effectively three down. Marcus Stoinis comes to the crease. Australia are 33/2 after 7 overs.
Meanwhile, India have won by 7 wickets and have gone to top of the table. If Australia lose today, Kohli's side will face New Zealand in the semis, while the defending champions will take on hosts England in the other knockout clash.
22:29 hrs IST: Khawaja is going off. Looks like a calf injury. Steve Smith comes to the crease. Australia are 20/1 after 5 overs.
22:24 hrs IST: Impressive over from Rabada, generates some serious pace. Australia are 18/1 after 4 overs. Warner 10*, Khawaja 5*
22:18 hrs IST: OUT! Finch c Markram b Tahir 3(4). Khawaja comes to the crease. Australia are 13/1 after 3 overs.
22:13 hrs IST: Tidy over from Rabada, only three off it. Australia are 5/0 after 2 overs. Finch 3*, Warner 2*. Tahir to continue
22:09 hrs IST: Fine start from Tahir. Australia are 2/0 after the first over. Kaigiso Rabada comes into the attack.
22:06 hrs IST: Time for live action. Warner to take strike. Tahir to open the attack.
21:36 hrs IST: That's it. SA finish on 325/6. Dussen gets out on 95. We'll be back in 30 minutes.
21:30 hrs IST: Dussen nearing ton. SA are 317/5 after 49 overs.
21:23 hrs IST: Expensive over from Cummins, 16 off it. SA are 313/4 after 48 overs.
21:16 hrs IST: OUT! Duminy c Stoinis b Starc 14(13) [4s-1]. SA are 297/4 after 47 overs.
21:06 hrs IST: Eleven off the last two overs. SA are 276/3 after 45 overs.
20:58 hrs IST: OUT! Du Plessis c Starc b Behrendorff 100(94) [4s-7 6s-2]. SA are 265/3 after 43 overs.
20:54 hrs IT: Du Plessis hits ton. What a knock by the South Africa skipper! Magnificent! Should look to stay till the end. SA well on course to get past 330
20:48 hrs IST: Dussen scores fifty. South Africa are 251/2 after 41 overs.
20:39 IST: Costly over from Behrendorff, 10 off it. South Africa are 241/2 after 39 overs.
20:35 IST: 14 off the last two overs. South Africa are 231/2 after 38 overs. Du Plessis 88*, Dussen 39*
20:28 IST: 9 runs conceded in this Maxwell over, and du Plessis and his partner create a 100-run stand. SA: 217/2 (36 overs).
20:24 IST: Faf du Plessis: 75 (70), Rassie van der Dussen: 29 (52). SA: 208/2 (35 overs).
20:22 IST: 10 runs conceded in this Lyon over. SA: 208/2 (35 overs).
20:01 IST: Meanwhile in Leeds, India are 59/0 after 10 overs. They need another 206 runs Vs Sri Lanka.
19:57 IST: Maxwell keeps du Plessis at bay, with a good delivery to end his over. SA: 162/2 (28 overs).
19:54 IST: South Africa try to keep the ship steady, with Du Plessis and Dussen attempting to build a partnership. SA: 157/2 (27 overs).
19:50 IST: Maxwell gives away 4 runs in a rather good over by the all-rounder. SA: 148/2 (26 overs).
19:47 IST: 8 runs scored in this Stoinis over. Du Plessis is at 35(34), Dussen is at 8(28). SA: 144/2 (25 overs).
19:39 IST: Excellent first over by Stoinis. The right-armer concedes only 2 runs. SA: 133/2 (23 overs).
19:36 IST: STAT ATTACK: South Africa have won seven of their last eight ODIs against Australia, four of those victories coming when chasing a target.
19: 34 IST: 7 runs scored in this Lyon over. SA: 131/2 (22 overs).
19:31 IST: Two runs scored in this Cummins over. Van der Dussen is currently at 2(14), and du Plessis is at 23 (24). SA: 142/2 (21 overs).
19:29 IST: Good over by Lyon, only gets hit for one run. Pressure building on The Proteas. SA: 122/2 (20 overs).
19:24 IST: Good over by Cummins, concedes six runs only. SA: 118/2 (19 overs).
19:17 IST: Lyon gets the important wicket, of De Kock (52 off 51 balls), who was really looking settled. SA: 114/2 (17.4 overs).
19:15 IST: Smith bowls his first over of the match, concedes five runs. SA: 112/1 (17 overs).
19:07 IST: Starc has been hit for 34 runs in four overs. He needs four wickets to become the fifth player to reach 50 World Cup scalps. His bowling average of 13 is the best of anyone to take 20+ wickets in the history of the competition. SA: 102/1 (15 overs).
19:04 IST: Du Plessis smashes Starc for two fours in this over. SA: 102/1 (15 overs).
19:02 IST: A good over by Lyon, who concedes six runs. SA: 90/1 (14 overs).
18:52 IST: Excellently bowled by Lyon, with Carey doing the stumps. Bye Markram! SA: 79/1 (11.3 overs).
18:48 IST: South Africa look to maintain their momentum with De Kock and Markram looking comfortable. SA: 78/0 (11 overs).
18:47 IST: Meanwhile, in Headingley, Sri Lanka have set India a target of 265.
18:29 IST: STAT ATTACK: This is the 100th ODI between the two nations. Australia have won 48 of those, and South Africa have won 47.
18:27 IST: A good over by Behrendorff, although Markram hits him for a four in the fourth delivery. SA: 48/0 (6 overs).
18:24 IST: De Kock smashes Starc for two fours in this over. SA look to post a good target. SA: 42/0 (5 overs).
18:20 IST: Markram smashes Behrendorff for two fours in this over! SA: 34/0 (4 overs).
18:09 IST: South Africa get to decent start smashing Mitchell Starc for two fours in the first over itself. SA: 14/0 (1 over).
18:03 IST: In come Markram and De Kock to start SA innings.
17:58 IST: This is also going to be Imran Tahir and JP Duminy's last ODI match, while it could probably be du Plessis' too!
17:46 IST: Here are the starting XIs of both teams:
Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch (capt), Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon
South Africa: Quinton de Kick (wk), Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis (capt), Rassie van der Dussen, Jean-Paul Duminy, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Kagiso, Rabada, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi
17:34 IST: South Africa have won the toss, with Faf du Plessis electing to bat first against Australia.
Australia, the five-time world champions, were not among the favourites coming into this edition, with some pundits arguing their "old-fashioned" approach was ill-suited to modern ODIs where scores of around 400 are increasingly commonplace.
There were also concerns the lingering fallout from the ball-tampering scandal would prove a distraction. But instead Australia became the first team to qualify for the semis.
"To get to this point has taken a lot of hard work from where we came from in Cape Town," said Australia coach Justin Langer.
"It was one of the great crises in Australian cricket, a lot of heartache, certainly a lot of pain.
"But when it came to the World Cup, we talked about when Steve (Smith) and David (Warner) come back we want to make sure we build a really strong team so they come in seamlessly."
South Africa, on the other hand, will be looking to bow out with back-to-back victories after seeing off Sri Lanka, with both Imran Tahir and JP Duminy set to play their final ODI.
The 40-year-old leg-spinner Tahir will look to finish on a high and help his side to just a third win of the competition but he is anticipating goodbye to be the saddest word.
“As a team, we need to think about finishing on a good note,” he said. “But it makes me feel very sad and emotional that I’m going to leave.
“It was always my dream always to play international cricket and I’m really grateful to everyone who helped me on the way.
“They accepted me for who I was, the guy who came from overseas and got the opportunity and they accepted that.
“It’s a big moment of my life – I always wanted to play cricket and play as long as I could and now is the right time to go. I never thought I’d be here in England playing my last ODI.”
