New Zealand won by 4 wkts

SCORE CARD : New Zealand Innings - 299/6 (42.5 overs) 

NZ INNINGS

Let's take a look at some of the best tweets from this thrilling encounter:
@ShaneWarne: What a game of cricket in NZ, please hold your heads high South Africa, you've done everyone proud as you gave it absolutely everything !!
@mohanstatsman: It has taken New Zealand 39 yrs, 9 months, 18 days and six semi-final losses to make their first WC final!
@bhogleharsha: What a match though! With all that is happening around us, thank god for sport! #cwc15 #NZvsSA
@scottbstyris: Congrats South Africa on this performance and your tournament. Quite simply the best match I've ever been to live! Worthy of a final
@SPFleming7: What an unbelievable game. So proud of the @BLACKCAPS and what they have achieved. Also feel the raw pain of @OfficialCSA on an amazing day.
@RoshanCricket: This game is not for the faint hearts. The Pendulum has swung again with the wicket of Ronchi. This is what a WC should be made off.
@MichaelVaughan: Bloody loving this game... Whoever wins deserves it... Not having either team being called chokers if they lose.. #CWC15
@cricketaakash: Gotta feel for the South Africans...they would've won this one if it wasn't for the rain break. Played like champions. Well done!
@Swannyg66: WHAT A GAME!!!! The eruption of Eden park there was spine tingling huge! Grant Elliot take a bow #cricketisawesome
@fwildecricket: Tears of joy, tears of pain. Sport you beautiful bastard. #CWC15 #NZvSA #NZ #SA
@cheteshwar1: What a game of cricket, perfect semi, both teams played real good cricket @ICC #CWC2015 #NZvSA
@swildecricket: South Africa should have run out Anderson on 33, run out Elliott on 65 and caught Elliott on 75. Truth is, the pressure told on them
Here's the parting shot from Jamie as the World Cup ends its New Zealand leg - Crazy, people cried, jumped, banged tables, hugged, the scorers shouted. the hospitality staff went berserk, immense - he says, about New Zealand's last gasp victory
'I have said it time and time again, this is the greatest time of our lives as players. We are enjoying the experience. It's been an incredible ride all the way through. The crowds that we had turn up in New Zealand and support this team and the brand of cricket we are trying to play, it's been phenomenal. I hope they are all dreaming as much as what we are. We've got a huge occasion in a few days time and geez it will be nice to win it. We don't mind (the opposition). Both are quality teams that are obviously playing the other semi-final. We know that if we play the cricket that we can, then we will have a good chance. But we'll worry about that after tonight I think (smiles). Credit to our boys as well. Probably I haven't talked enough about them (the whole team). We've got a tremendous team spirit amongst the group. We have got guys contributing across the park and off the park as well. An outstanding management team and a group of guys who are headed in the same direction and it's really proud to represent New Zealand. Thanks crowd!'
McCullum: 'It's pretty amazing. South Africa gave us as good as they got all day and I thought the game was outstanding. Great advertisement for cricket and I am sure everyone that was here will remember this for the rest of their lives. I know that our boys will. We will give ourselves a chance at World Cup glory, which is a fine achievement, really proud of all the boys' efforts. Keep raining (smiles, when asked what he was thinking when it started to rain when South Africa were batting) They were obviously setting it up quite nicely and there were two set batsmen and two very destructive batsmen at the crease as well. I still looked at the innings and the way we kept giving in the field and the way we bowled I still thought we were controlling everything we possibly could. Sometimes you come against people who play significant hands and that's what those guys were doing. We just knew we just needed to hang in there and even with the bat as long as we could hang in there we gave ourselves a chance towards the end. What a great innings from Grant Elliott. Came out of the wilderness not long ago and he's just played a match-winning innings in the semi-final and the partnership he had with Corey (Anderson), just such calmness about them as well. It's a tremendous achievement from them and all the boys. It's bits and pieces when it boils down to the significance of the innings that Grant played. We had to try and generate some sort of run rate early when you are chasing such a big score. And that's obviously what we tried to do. Again credit to South Africa. I thought the way they played throughout this game and throughout the tournament has been outstanding. It's a great advertisement for their country and cricket in their country as well. So full credit to AB (de Villiers), especially he's led the way and to all the South African guys for their part in this tournament and obviously giving us one hell of a run today.'
AB de Villiers shakes hands with McCullum as he walks off.
de Villiers: 'Amazing game of cricket, this is probably the most electric crowd I've ever heard in my life. Credit to the crowd here tonight. They were really here to support their team. I guess the better team came out on top today. We gave it our best. We left everything out here on the field and I couldn't ask anything more from my boys. We don't go back with any regrets, but I guess we had our chances and it's hurting quite a bit. So it will take us a while to get over this. That (rain coming down when South Africa were set for a big score) is probably the worst of it all. We are not playing for ourselves. There is a bigger picture. We are playing to make a difference in our country back home. Hopefully the way the passion we showed here did make a difference in our country back home and I hope people back home can still be proud of us no matter about the fact we lost tonight. I felt we had wonderful things going as a team in this tournament. Really had a good feeling. I don't want to single out any individual because we are a unit and the unit came and stuck today. We had very good individual performances throughout the tournament. So credit to all those who did well. And to the teams in the final, all the best, whoever wins.' AB de Villiers was very emotional and he could not talk much. Credit to Simon Doull for not asking too many questions.
Elliott: 'Yeah, it's great. I mean I don't think this win is for myself, not for the team, but it's for everyone here. The support has been amazing. We (him and Anderson) just wanted to take it as deep as we could and Corey (Anderson) batted fantastically well and I think we timed the pace of the innings to perfection. Probably not (when asked if he was calm during the final stages), but when you have got 40,000 fans screaming at you every ball, it's has been an absolute pleasure playing at Eden Park, playing in front of the home crowd. I think we have had a good run and it is the first final we have been in as a New Zealand team and we are a very leveled team. We will approach it as every other game and when we look back at the end of the day hopefully, it falls in our place (talking about the final). Nothing, nothing, I didn't even know where the ball went (when asked what he thought about the last six).'
Grant Elliott is the Man of the Match for his unbeaten 84. He received the award from former West Indian captain, Sir Clive Lloyd.
New Zealand will be brimming with confidence when they will face up to the winner of Australia/India at the MCG in the grand final.
Earlier, de Villiers' marvellous fluency and Faf du Plessis' well-constructed fifty helped South Africa to make a smart recovery after they lost wickets up front. Once it was reduced to 43-overs-a-side, David Miller blazed his way to a 18-ball 49 to lift South Africa to a sizeable total. However, with short boundaries and the dew factor coming into play, New Zealand would have been confident of chasing down the target.
One has to also remember that Brendon McCullum set up the game for New Zealand as he waltzed through to a 26-ball 59. He clouted the likes of Steyn and Vernon Philander to all corners of the ground to stun the opposition into silence. In fact, McCullum clobbering Steyn down the ground for a monstrous six has to be one of the highlights of the day.
For South Africa, it was Morne Morkel, who struck twice in quick succession and Imran Tahir bowled parsimoniously to pull the batting side back. In fact, Morkel and Tahir were excellent with the ball in hand. However, for a brief period, Anderson and Elliott seemed to have taken the game away from their grasp. Anderson and Luke Ronchi's wickets then gave South Africa genuine hopes of coming back into the match, but New Zealand just about held their nerve to win the match. South Africa would rue the fact that de Villiers, one of the best fielders going around, missed an easy chance to run out Anderson. Steyn leaking runs and not having a regular fifth bowler didn't help their cause. Steyn also seemed to be troubled by a hamstring problem.
Grant Elliott's nerveless fifty and Corey Anderson's thrill-a-minute knock helped New Zealand to win a cliffhanger. In a game that was reduced to 43-overs-a-side due to rain, both sides fought tooth and nail before Elliott turned the game on its head to steer New Zealand to their first final in the history of the World Cup and leave the crowd in a state of ecstasy. With five runs needed for a famous win, Elliott thwacked Dale Steyn for a six to finish the game off in style. Anderson too played his part by composing a power-packed innings under pressure. With confident strides, Elliott showed good defence and when needed, played the big shot. Back in 2009, Elliott had done something similar in the Champions Trophy semi-final against Pakistan when he played with a calm head on his shoulders to guide them to victory. This is also the highest run-chase by any team in a knockout game in World Cups.
Phew! What a game of cricket. The New Zealand players come down to shake hands with their opponents. AB de Villiers too is crying. The Eden Park is standing on its feet. The New Zealand fans are delighted. Elliott gets a hug from Ronchi. Brendon McCullum gives Steyn a tight hug as well. The New Zealand players then wave to the crowd.
42.5 Steyn to Elliott, SIX, New Zealand have qualified for a World Cup final for the first time. What a blow from Elliott. What an innings he's played. Look at that roar from the Eden Park crowd. Ian Smith goes berserk on air. Length delivery from Steyn, a shocking ball at this stage of the innings, Elliott takes his front leg out of the way and smashes it high over long-on. Elliott punches the air in delight and has his hands aloft before Vettori hugs him. AB de Villiers is down on his knees. Oh my word! This is heartbreak for South Africa. Such a good team they have, but they somehow did not manage to hold their nerve under pressure. Morne Morkel is crying. Parnell consoles Morkel. Faf du Plessis looks gutted as well
The field is well spread now
42.4 Steyn to Vettori, byes, 1 run, short of length delivery from Steyn, Vettori swings and misses, Elliott sets off, de Kock misses the stumps, Steyn collects the ball and has a shy at the bowler's end but misses. Had de Kock hit the stumps, Elliott would have been out
42.3 Steyn to Vettori, FOUR, oh boy! Steyn is livid! How has he managed to hit that for four? Full toss and wide outside off stump, Vettori backs away and then somehow manages to stretch and guide it past backward point, third man is very fine and he can't get there
New Zealand need 10 off 4 to win this game, but remember, 9 will take them into the final.
Oops! Steyn is stretching his left hamstring. He calls for the physio. What drama! ABdV has a long chat with Steyn. The physio is attending to Steyn. Meanwhile, chants of 'Daniel Vettori, Daniel Vettori' reverberate around Eden Park.
42.2 Steyn to Elliott, 1 run, full toss outside off stump, Elliott drives it uppishly, Miller rushes in from cover but it doesn't carry
New Zealand need 11 to win, but 10 will be enough as a tie will see them through.
42.1 Steyn to Vettori, byes, 1 run, short of length delivery from Steyn, Vettori pulls and misses, Elliott races to get back on strike and he succeeds in stealing a bye
42 NZ
286/6 		1  2  1  1  4  2   Elliott 77 (71) M Morkel 9 - 0 - 59 - 3
Runs Scored: 11 Vettori 3(3)    
41.6 M Morkel to Elliott, 2 runs, he's mistimed it. And ohhhh! Behardien was right under the ball but Duminy came right across him and they spill it. Behardien had it covered at deep backward square. It was an easy catch for him but Duminy came running from fine leg, dived in front of him and put his mate off. Short delivery outside off stump, Elliott mistimes the pull high in the air, it should have been a wicket, but Duminy collided with Behardien. Meanwhile, both the Black Caps batsmen were ball watching and weren't running for a while
It's 14 needed off 7 now.
41.5 M Morkel to Elliott, FOUR, what a shot! Morkel misses the length and bowls a juicy full ball outside off stump, Elliott shuffled across to the off-side, doesn't try to over-hit the ball, just lofts it over extra-cover and it races away for four
41.4 M Morkel to Vettori, 1 run, that is a brilliant save from Steyn diving full length to his right. Great committment, he stretches his right hamstring after fielding the ball. Vettori walks across the stumps and helps this short ball down to long leg, but he could get only one run
41.3 M Morkel to Elliott, 1 run, slower ball bumper outside off stump, Elliott under-edges the pull to mid wicket
41.2 M Morkel to Elliott, 2 runs, in the airrrrrr and it's landed safely between two converging fielders. Full and outside off stump, Elliott looks to slog this hard after clearing his front leg out of the way, du Plessis runs back from mid-wicket, Amla rushes in from the deep, but the ball beats both fielders
Fine leg is back. Mid-off, mid-on and square leg in.
41.1 M Morkel to Vettori, 1 run, full toss, crashed hard. Oh, that's a great diving save to his left from Amla, stopped a certain boundary. Vettori hit that hard towards extra-cover, but Amla intervened at short cover
Morne Morkel [8.0-0-48-3] is back into the attack
Decent over from Steyn under the circumstances. New Zealand need 23 off the last two overs.
41 NZ
275/6 		W  2  2  1  1  0   Elliott 68 (67) Steyn 8 - 0 - 65 - 1
Runs Scored: 6 Vettori 1(1)    
40.6 Steyn to Elliott, no run, a direct-hit would have been curtains for Vettori. Low full toss on the leg stump, Elliott flicks it straight to ABdV at short mid-wicket, Vettori was backing up too far, the fielder had a shy but missed
40.5 Steyn to Vettori, 1 run, backs away, Steyn fires in a yorker, somehow Vettori manages to squeeze it out to Rossouw at backward point, who dives to his right and stops the ball
40.4 Steyn to Elliott, 1 run, slower ball on the leg stump, glanced away to fine leg
40.3 Steyn to Elliott, 2 runs, oh dear, Quinton de Kock. A run-out chance goes begging. Short of a length delivery on the leg stump, Elliott flicks it to backward square leg and wants two, rushes back, Rossouw fires a good throw adjacent to the stumps but in anxiety, de Kock fumbled and whipped the bails off without the ball. Elliott was well short despite a full length dive
40.2 Steyn to Elliott, 2 runs, nice hit, third man is very fine and Elliott guides it past backward point for a couple of runs
Daniel Vettori, left handed bat, comes to the crease
40.1 Steyn to Ronchi, out Caught by Rossouw!! What have you done Luke Ronchi? A nothing shot and it's a simple catch at deep square leg. He can't believe it! Short of a length delivery on the leg stump, a harmless ball in fact, Ronchi flicks but doesn't bother to keep it down, the fielder waits for the ball to come and swallows it easily. Maybe Ronchi was trying to go over mid-wicket. Anyway, Steyn has given a breakthrough for South Africa at a crucial time. Ronchi c Rossouw b Steyn 8(7) [4s-1]
Dale Steyn [7.0-0-59-0] is back into the attack
29 needed off 18. Remember, if it's a tie, New Zealand will go through to the final because they finished higher in the group stage.
40 NZ
269/5 		1  0  0  1  4  1   Ronchi 8 (6) Tahir 9 - 1 - 40 - 0
Runs Scored: 7 Elliott 63(63)    
39.6 Tahir to Ronchi, 1 run, low full toss outside off stump, Ronchi drives it down to long-off, the fielder makes a fine sliding save
39.5 Tahir to Ronchi, FOUR, what a shot! Just a flick of the wrists and away she went, someone would say! Flatter delivery on the leg stump, Ronchi flicks with a strong bottom hand grip and hits it over mid-wicket to pick up a much needed boundary
39.4 Tahir to Elliott, 1 run, 'caaaatch' is the cry from Tahir but it doesn't carry to the man, who was running to his left from deep square leg. Elliott pulled that off the back foot
39.3 Tahir to Elliott, no run, very full on the off stump, driven back to the bowler. This is a top over so far. Captain ABdV likes it
39.2 Tahir to Elliott, no run, on the leg stump, Elliott flicks it to mid-wicket
39.1 Tahir to Ronchi, 1 run, googly on the stumps, not sure if Ronchi picked it, but he's managed to tap it to point
Imran Tahir [8.0-1-33-0] is back into the attack
36 to get off 24 balls. Don't take your eyes off this!
39 NZ
262/5 		1  0  1  6  1  1   Ronchi 2 (3) de Villiers 3 - 0 - 21 - 0
Runs Scored: 10 Elliott 62(60)    
38.6 de Villiers to Ronchi, 1 run, oh that is a great effort from ABdV! He flies to his right in no time after delivering the ball as Ronchi drove this uppishly to long-on, unfortunately for South Africa, Ronchi hit it hard enough to beat ABdV's acrobatic dive
38.5 de Villiers to Elliott, 1 run, slogs very hard but hits it straight to deep square leg. A couple yards either side of the fielder would have been more runs
38.4 de Villiers to Elliott, SIX, in the airrrr and all the way! Timely hit this from Elliott. Too short from de Villiers, no pace whatsoever to trouble the batsman, who rocks back and pulls it high over deep square leg
38.3 de Villiers to Ronchi, 1 run, driven nicely but Behardien is stationed very straight at long-on
38.2 de Villiers to Ronchi, no run, on the off stump, defended back to the bowler
38.1 de Villiers to Elliott, 1 run, full and outside off stump, Elliott drives it to long-off
Jamie, who's watching from the ground isn't sure if it hit the spidercam wire, but it went miles up in the air, Faf waited for an eternity before holding on
Luke Ronchi, right handed bat, comes to the crease
Alright, 46 to get off 30 and South Africa have a new batsman to work with. What an over that was from Morkel. Just one run in it and the big wicket of Anderson.
38 NZ
252/5 		1  0  0  0  0  W   Corey Anderson 58 (57) M Morkel 8 - 0 - 48 - 3
Runs Scored: 1 Elliott 54(57)    
37.6 M Morkel to Corey Anderson, out Caught by du Plessis!! Is there a twist in the tale? This is the just the breakthrough South Africa wanted at this stage. Slower delivery shortish and outside off stump, Anderson goes for the pull but gets a top edge, it goes high in the air, square leg settles under it and holds on to the skier. That was a very good catch from Faf, who had his hands outstretched in joy, while he was flat on the ground. Faf is pumped and he gets a pat from Steyn. Oh hang on! They are checking if the ball hit the spider cam. Anderson is waiting near the boundary. Not sure if the ball flicked the string on its way down. The third umpire says it's fine and Anderson has to go. Remember, if the ball had touched the wire, it would have been a dead ball. End of a terrific knock from the all-rounder. Corey Anderson c du Plessis b M Morkel 58(57) [4s-6 6s-2]
37.5 M Morkel to Corey Anderson, no run, short and down the leg-side, big appeal for catch from de Kock as Anderson misses the hook, but umpire Gould wasn't keen. No bat or glove involved
37.4 M Morkel to Corey Anderson, no run, almost knocked the leg stump out! Anderson doesn't move his feet while trying to run it down to third man, the short of length delivery just nips back in and goes just over the stumps
37.3 M Morkel to Corey Anderson, no run, short of length delivery on the stumps, Anderson is cramped on the cut and he picks out point
37.2 M Morkel to Corey Anderson, no run, steeply rising short of length delivery on the stumps, Anderson hops and keeps it out
37.1 M Morkel to Elliott, 1 run, dabbed down to third man for an easy single
Morne Morkel [7.0-0-47-2] is back into the attack
37 NZ
251/4 		0  1  1  0  1  2  4   Corey Anderson 58 (52) de Villiers 2 - 0 - 11 - 0
Runs Scored: 9 Elliott 53(56)    
36.6 de Villiers to Corey Anderson, FOUR, short and pulled in the air, more importantly pulled in the gap. Anderson wasn't impressed after playing the shot and shook his head as he knew it was airborne and not too far away from Amla, who moved to his left. Short and down the leg-side, Anderson sends it between backward square leg and short fine leg
36.5 de Villiers to Corey Anderson, 2 runs, slogged across the line, not great timing but it goes wide of long-on and it's good enough for a couple of runs. Good running from Elliott as he quickly raced back for the second
Vernon Philander is off the park.
36.4 de Villiers to Elliott, 1 run, short of length delivery on the off stump, Elliott pulls it to deep square leg
36.3 de Villiers to Elliott, no run, huge shout for LBW, not given and South Africa don't have their review. Short of a length delivery just shaping back in, Elliott goes across the line and gets an inside edge onto pad
36.2 de Villiers to Corey Anderson, 1 run, short of a length delivery outside off stump, Anderson goes hard at it
36.1 de Villiers to Corey Anderson, no run, very full, drilled back to the bowler
AB de Villiers [1.0-0-3-0] is back into the attack
New Zealand have scored 35 runs in the 4-over batting powerplay, but more importantly, have not lost a wicket. It's down to 55 off 42 now.
36 NZ
243/4 		Wd  4  1  0  4  1  1   Corey Anderson 51 (48) Tahir 8 - 1 - 33 - 0
Runs Scored: 12 Elliott 52(54)    
35.6 Tahir to Corey Anderson, 1 run, every single run is being cheered. South Africa are under serious pressure. Flighted from Tahir, driven to long-on
35.5 Tahir to Elliott, 1 run, on the leg stump, driven down to long-on
35.4 Tahir to Elliott, FOUR, excellent hit to bring up fifty. Flighted delivery outside off stump, Elliott doesn't try to over-hit the ball, just lofts it over extra-cover with the spin and gets four more. Big cheer from the capacity Eden Park crowd
35.3 Tahir to Elliott, no run, oh! The Giraffe slipped and the ball almost escaped. Flighted delivery on the leg stump, Elliott flicks it to backward sqaure leg, Morne runs to his left, slips but manages to stop the ball to his right
35.2 Tahir to Corey Anderson, 1 run, a sensational fifty under pressure from the youngster. He's scored at a brisk pace as well. This is his 4th ODI fifty. Flighted delivery outside off stump, Anderson drives it to long-off and raises his bat to acknowledge the applause
35.1 Tahir to Corey Anderson, FOUR, short and outside off stump, cut very hard, Amla dives full length to his left but it's not good enough. Amla moved from cover-point but Anderson hit it in the gap
35.1 Tahir to Corey Anderson, wide, not the ideal start, sprays the flatter delivery down the leg-side, de Kock takes the bails off, but Anderson had his back foot grounded
Imran Tahir [7.0-1-21-0] is back into the attack
New Zealand need 67 off 48 balls. This is well within their reach. South Africa need a couple of quick wickets.
More from Jamie as the match veers towards a tense finale: Crowd getting behind every ball. They can sense something special. But its a tricky situation. Loud boos after Morkel pulls up.
35 NZ
231/4 		6  1  0  0  4  1   Corey Anderson 45 (45) M Morkel 7 - 0 - 47 - 2
Runs Scored: 12 Elliott 47(51)    
34.6 M Morkel to Corey Anderson, 1 run, driven to mid-off and he'll keep strike
34.5 M Morkel to Corey Anderson, FOUR, goes aerial, there is no one at long-off and it's a misfield as well. Fullish delivery outside off stump, Anderson goes for the loft, he was looking to go straight but the bat turned in his hands and it went wide of mid-off, AB gave chase from mid-off, he dived very early, the ball hit his elbow and then the knee pushed the ball to the rope. AB is very disappointed
Morne stops as he was about to release the ball and the crowd boo him.
34.4 M Morkel to Corey Anderson, no run, short of length delivery outside off stump, Anderson dabs it to point, Rossouw makes a diving save to his right
34.3 M Morkel to Corey Anderson, no run, oops! Anderson gets hit on the box. He feels a bit of pain, but he's fine though. Short of a length delivery on the leg stump, Anderson tries to work it on the on-side, but gets an inside edge and gets hit
Milne, Ronchi and Shane Bond have a bit of smile in the dressing room. Looks like that New Zealand change room is relaxed
34.2 M Morkel to Elliott, 1 run, fullish and outside off stump, Elliott flicks it to deep square leg
34.1 M Morkel to Elliott, SIX, has he hit that well enough? Yes, he has! Short of a length delivery just outside off stump, Elliott slogs across the line and sends it high over deep square leg, there is no one in the deep and that is a safe shot. Great start to the over for the Black Caps
34 NZ
219/4 		1  0  1L  1  2  1   Elliott 40 (49) Steyn 7 - 0 - 59 - 0
Runs Scored: 6 Corey Anderson 40(41)    
33.6 Steyn to Elliott, 1 run, nice and full on the stump, Elliott drives it down to mid-on, ABdV flies to his left and makes a diving save, deflects the ball towards mid-off, he recovers and dives again but doesn't get there. Anyway, Tahir was there in position to stop the ball
33.5 Steyn to Elliott, 2 runs, in the airrrr but just wide of the fielder. Faf it was at cover, who was diving full length to his right. Full and outside off stump, Elliott doesn't control the drive on the rise and gets away with it. Tahir runs back from mid-off to save two
33.4 Steyn to Corey Anderson, 1 run, lets the length ball to come and and guides it late to third man, they think about the second run as the throw goes towards mid-wicket, but there was a man backing up
33.3 Steyn to Elliott, leg byes, 1 run, short of length delivery down the leg-side, Elliott fails to glance it away and it rolls off the thigh pad towards backward square leg
33.2 Steyn to Elliott, no run, attempts a lazy dab away from the body, but the outswing on this short of length delivery beats him all ends up
33.1 Steyn to Corey Anderson, 1 run, good length delivery on the off stump, Anderson dangerously guides the ball very late to third man
Coming back to that run-out miss, the throw came in on the half-volley, but AB, who was so excited to effect the run-out, broke the stumps with his hand without the ball. He fell over, but tried to run Anderson out on the second attempt, still couldn't uproot the stumps. Even while lying flat on the ground he tried to pull the stumps out, but couldn't. Is that the game? Dale Steyn, who had a good view, knew straightaway that they've missed a great opportunity.
Jamie chirped in to say that there was a mellow rection from the crowd when AB came onto bowl, but there was a huge roar when he fluffed that run-out chance
33 NZ
213/4 		4  0  0  0  0  1   Corey Anderson 38 (39) M Morkel 6 - 0 - 35 - 2
Runs Scored: 5 Elliott 37(45)    
32.6 M Morkel to Corey Anderson, 1 run, short of length delivery just outside off stump, dabbed to short third man
32.5 M Morkel to Corey Anderson, no run, short of length delivery outside off stump, Anderson goes for the pull and misses
32.4 M Morkel to Corey Anderson, no run, good length delivery on the off stump, Anderson defends off the back foot
32.3 M Morkel to Corey Anderson, no run, short of length delivery outside off stump, Anderson looks to go hard but toe-ends it to the right of the bowler
32.2 M Morkel to Corey Anderson, no run, oh he decides to take the bat away at the last moment to this good length delivery. He could have easily dragged that back onto the stumps
32.1 M Morkel to Corey Anderson, FOUR, smashed! Full and outside off stump, Anderson drives very hard, mid-off was very square and he had no chance. That was hit with immense power
Morne Morkel [5.0-0-30-2] is back into the attack
New Zealand have taken the batting powerplay. Remember, it's only for 4 overs. In fact, ABdV was coming in to bowl, but since they opted for the powerplay, he threw the ball to Morne.
32 NZ
208/4 		0  1  0  0  0  4   Elliott 37 (45) Steyn 6 - 0 - 54 - 0
Runs Scored: 5 Corey Anderson 33(33)    
31.6 Steyn to Elliott, FOUR, Morne Morkel can't stop it at third man. Short of a length delivery outside off stump, Elliott guides it gently, the Giraffe runs to his right, tries to stop it with his right hand, but the pace on the ball was too much for him and he couldn't make a clean stop
31.5 Steyn to Elliott, no run, fullish and outside off stump, Elliott drives it to cover
31.4 Steyn to Elliott, no run, short delivery outside off stump, Elliott left alone
31.3 Steyn to Elliott, no run, what a moment! Surely an easy run-out but ABdV failed to hold his nerve under pressure. South Africa needed to break this stand. Fullish delivery outside off stump, Elliott defends it to point, Corey Anderson races for a run but Elliott sends him back, the throw comes in adjacent to the stumps, but de Villiers, who rushed in from mid-on, couldn't stop himself in time and his hand hit the stumps before grabbing the ball as he couldn't control the momentum
Run-out check sent upstairs. This is a big moment in the game. Has ABdV broken the stumps without the ball? Anderson is the man in question. Oh no! Looks like he doesn't have the ball while disturbing the bails. 'I need a closer angle,' says umpire Llong. He gets a different angle. 'Two bails are off and there is no ball involved, so it's not out,' adds Llong.
31.2 Steyn to Corey Anderson, 1 run, driven along the ground but there is a man sweeping on the off-side
31.1 Steyn to Corey Anderson, no run, Anderson was late to defend this one but he manages to keep it out though. This good length delivery shaped back in and almost went through the gate
31 NZ
203/4 		0  1  1  1L  1  0   Elliott 33 (41) de Villiers 1 - 0 - 3 - 0
Runs Scored: 4 Corey Anderson 32(31)    
30.6 de Villiers to Elliott, no run, on the leg stump, flicked to mid-wicket. Just 4 singles in it and that's a very good over in the context of the game
30.5 de Villiers to Corey Anderson, 1 run, good length delivery outside off stump, Anderson drives hard, de Villiers tries to grab the ball in his followthrough, but fumbles and it goes to mid-on
30.4 de Villiers to Elliott, leg byes, 1 run, full and down the leg-side, Elliott misses the flick and is hit on the pad, the ball rolls to square leg and Anderson takes a run. The ball was going down the leg-side and the umpire wasn't interested in the appeal for LBW
30.3 de Villiers to Corey Anderson, 1 run, short of length delivery outside off stump, Anderson flat-bats it to long-off
30.2 de Villiers to Elliott, 1 run, bit of inswing on this attempted yorker, Elliott whips it away through backward square leg. New Zealand bring up their 200, much to the delight of the capacity crowd at Eden Park
30.1 de Villiers to Elliott, no run, short of length delivery just outside off stump, defended back to the bowler
AB de Villiers, right-arm medium, comes into the attack
Wow! This is interesting, ABdV brings himself on. I think he's got a wicket every match he's bowled in the last 4-5 games.
It was Corey Anderson, who decided to take the mantle of steering New Zealand to victory by thrashing a few boundaries. He then bludgeoned Philander for a six over deep square-leg and took full advantage of a full toss from Duminy by tonking it down the ground for another six. At the other end, Grant Elliott has played with composure.
JP Duminy landed a crucial blow by getting the wicket of Ross Taylor, with Quinton de Kock showcasing sharp reflexes to take the catch down the leg side. Vernon Philander, on occasions, troubled the batsmen with subtle seam movement. With Philander, it feels like batsmen struggle to pick any hints from his wrist position and he hardly gets the ball to move in the air. It is only after pitching that he surprises the batsman with seam movement. Unfortunately, Philander also undid the good work by invariably bowling a loose delivery every over. If South Africa win this game, the credit has to go to Imran Tahir as he has bowled parsimoniously. New Zealand's batsmen have certainly not picked Tahir's googly.
30 NZ
199/4 		0  0  0  3  0  0   Corey Anderson 30 (29) Steyn 5 - 0 - 49 - 0
Runs Scored: 3 Elliott 32(37)    
29.6 Steyn to Corey Anderson, no run, oh! He's missed the pull shot and they appeal for a caught-behind. Not a convincing appeal though. Short of a length delivery just outside off stump, Anderson goes on the back foot and tries to pull, the ball skids on and probably kept a bit low as well and beat Anderson. Top over from Steyn, who went for 46 runs in his first four overs
29.5 Steyn to Corey Anderson, no run, wow! He wants a sighter. Full and outside off stump, left alone
29.4 Steyn to Elliott, 3 runs, driven nicely and in the gap as well at cover. ABdV races back from mid-off, the ball slows down and helps his cause as well, he puts in the slide and throws the ball back but Elliott quickly takes the third run and pushes his partner
29.3 Steyn to Elliott, no run, full and outside off stump, driven towards cover, where Miller is so swift to get to the ball and prevent a run
29.2 Steyn to Elliott, no run, a tentative poke away from the body and Elliott is beaten all ends up. Maybe just a bit of shape away from the right-hander on that occasion, Elliott looks to defend but gets away with it
29.1 Steyn to Elliott, no run, fullish and on the stumps, Elliott defends it towards mid-on
Dale Steyn [4.0-0-46-0] is back into the attack
Steyn returns with one slip.
29 NZ
196/4 		1  1  Wd  1  1  2  6   Corey Anderson 30 (27) Duminy 5 - 0 - 43 - 1
Runs Scored: 13 Elliott 29(33)    
28.6 Duminy to Corey Anderson, SIX, he's lost it! A friendly full toss and Anderson is not going to miss out. South Africa will have to be very tight with the ball if they are to pull this off, can't offer freebies and Anderson has absolutely smashed this over long-off
28.5 Duminy to Corey Anderson, 2 runs, oh dear! That's a bad ball but he's got away with that as Amla tidies up in the deep. Slider down the leg-side, Anderson helps it past short fine leg, deep backward square leg runs to his left and saves two
28.4 Duminy to Elliott, 1 run, spinning back in, Elliott flicks it through backward square leg, de Villiers makes a diving save to his right
28.3 Duminy to Corey Anderson, 1 run, on the stumps, gently nudged to mid-wicket, there is no one there, Duminy hunts the ball and keeps the batsmen down to one
28.3 Duminy to Corey Anderson, wide, down the leg-side, left alone, easy call for the umpire
28.2 Duminy to Elliott, 1 run, stays round the wicket, full and on the stumps, worked away through square leg
28.1 Duminy to Corey Anderson, 1 run, starts off from round the wicket and delivers a flatter ball on the off stump, punched to long-on
Jean-Paul Duminy [4.0-0-30-1] is back into the attack
28 NZ
183/4 		1  0  1  1  1  0   Elliott 27 (31) Tahir 7 - 1 - 21 - 0
Runs Scored: 4 Corey Anderson 20(23)    
27.6 Tahir to Elliott, no run, spinning away outside off stump, Elliott defends it towards point with an angled bat. Good over from Tahir, just four singles in it
27.5 Tahir to Corey Anderson, 1 run, Anderson goes on the back foot and tries to pull this short ball, but mistimes it to long-on. Maybe the ball kept a bit low on that occasion
27.4 Tahir to Elliott, 1 run, defends this googly off the front foot to backward point and gets off strike
27.3 Tahir to Corey Anderson, 1 run, the Giraffe (Morne) needed to do a better job. Googly outside off stump, Anderson cuts off the back foot, short third man dives to his left, but doesn't manage to stop the ball cleanly
27.2 Tahir to Corey Anderson, no run, this one spins back in, Anderson was on the back foot and he dangerously defends it towards cover
27.1 Tahir to Elliott, 1 run, nicely floated up ball from Tahir, Elliott drives it along the ground to long-off
27 NZ
179/4 		0  0  0  4  0  1   Elliott 25 (28) Philander 8 - 0 - 52 - 0
Runs Scored: 5 Corey Anderson 18(20)    
26.6 Philander to Elliott, 1 run, gets across the sticks and tucks the short of length delivery to backward square leg
26.5 Philander to Elliott, no run, beaten! This good length delivery just nips away off the deck and beats Elliott's attempted dab down to third man
26.4 Philander to Elliott, FOUR, full and in the slot, an excellent front foot drive and even a full length dive to the left by the fielder at cover wasn't good enough. Elliott didn't try to over hit the ball, just timed it to perfection and it raced away. Philander bowled three dots balls in the over, but all the good work has been undone
26.3 Philander to Elliott, no run, Philander keeps the good length close to the off stump, Elliott gently defends it into the off-side
26.2 Philander to Elliott, no run, pushes this with an angled bat towards point, Rossouw makes a diving save to his right and keeps the batsmen calm. Elliott was looking for a run there
26.1 Philander to Elliott, no run, fullish and outside off stump, Elliott defends it towards cover
One slip in place.
South Africa are slighty ahead at the moment but that hasn't doused the enthusiasm in the crowd. They are still cheering the home team on, says Jamie
Drinks are on the field now. The game is still in the balance. The run rate is fine for New Zealand, wickets in hand will be the key. On the other hand, if South Africa are to travel to Melbourne, they need wickets and wickets at regular intervals. We are all set for a cracking finish!
26 NZ
174/4 		0  0  1  0  0  0   Corey Anderson 18 (20) Tahir 6 - 1 - 17 - 0
Runs Scored: 1 Elliott 20(22)    
25.6 Tahir to Corey Anderson, no run, googly again just outside off stump, cut to point this time
25.5 Tahir to Corey Anderson, no run, looks defend this off the front foot, again doesn't pick the googly and gets beaten
25.4 Tahir to Corey Anderson, no run, Anderson fails to pick this googly. It was short and outside off stump, he thought he could power it off the back foot over mid-wicket, but the ball spun away from him and foxed him
One slip in place
25.3 Tahir to Elliott, 1 run, Tahir bowls a slider on the leg stump, Elliott punches it off the back foot to long-on
25.2 Tahir to Elliott, no run, goes for the sweep, but the ball spins away and goes past the under edge. Luckily for Elliott, it wasn't on the stumps
25.1 Tahir to Elliott, no run, tossed up on the stumps, defended off the front foot
Imran Tahir [5.0-1-16-0] is back into the attack
25 NZ
173/4 		0  0  0  0  2  6   Corey Anderson 18 (17) Philander 7 - 0 - 47 - 0
Runs Scored: 8 Elliott 19(19)    
24.6 Philander to Corey Anderson, SIX, horrible delivery from Philander, he once again releases the pressure off the last ball. Banged in short, not much pace on that, Anderson rocks back and muscles the pull over deep square. That was hit flat and travelled all the way
24.5 Philander to Corey Anderson, 2 runs, Philander drags the length back, Anderson is quick to go back and pull it in front of square, he didn't middle it, hence only the couple
24.4 Philander to Corey Anderson, no run, pitched up on off, Anderson middles the on-drive, ABD runs to his right and makes a sprawling stop
24.3 Philander to Corey Anderson, no run, Philander is keeping it tight, on a length close to off, Anderson presses forward and blocks it to cover
24.2 Philander to Corey Anderson, no run, short of length on off, knocked down the wicket
24.1 Philander to Corey Anderson, no run, good length ball on off, Anderson presses forward and defends in front of cover
24 NZ
165/4 		1  4  0  1  4  0   Elliott 19 (19) Duminy 4 - 0 - 30 - 1
Runs Scored: 10 Corey Anderson 10(11)    
23.6 Duminy to Elliott, no run, goes back over the wicket, Elliott mistimes the drive to short mid-wicket, the bat turned and the ball went off the inner half
23.5 Duminy to Elliott, FOUR, poor bowling from Duminy. Darts it in just outside leg, Elliott goes down on one knee and sweeps it hard and fine, Miller had 10 metres to move and he couldn't get there as the ball rocketed to the fence
23.4 Duminy to Corey Anderson, 1 run, floated up just outside off, Anderson drills it down to long-off
23.3 Duminy to Corey Anderson, no run, pushed through, Anderson defends it to silly point, where ABD is quick to react
23.2 Duminy to Corey Anderson, FOUR, Anderson should look to be positive. Quicker on leg-stump, Anderson goes quickly onto his knee and sweeps it behind square, there was a fielder in the deep but he was a mere spectator as that was hit hard
Still a leg slip and silly point in place for Anderson
23.1 Duminy to Elliott, 1 run, Duminy continues round the wicket, flighted on middle and leg, Elliott sweeps it to deep backward square leg
23 NZ
155/4 		0  0  0  0  4  0   Corey Anderson 5 (8) Philander 6 - 0 - 39 - 0
Runs Scored: 4 Elliott 14(16)    
22.6 Philander to Corey Anderson, no run, good delivery to end the over, in and around the off-stump, Anderson knows where his off-stump is, lifts his bat and lets it go
22.5 Philander to Corey Anderson, FOUR, that should make him feel better, pitched up around off, Anderson presents the full face of the bat and drives it past Elliott, the fielder at mid-off was square and he couldn't cut that off
22.4 Philander to Corey Anderson, no run, beaten neck and crop! This is the Philander we all know. It hits the seam and nips back in, Anderson is cut into half, beaten off the inside edge and the ball goes over the stumps. It kept moving even after going past the batsman, QDK had to dive to his right to collect that
22.3 Philander to Corey Anderson, no run, on a length close to off, Anderson defends with an angled bat to backward point
22.2 Philander to Corey Anderson, no run, back of a length on off, Anderson stays back and knocks it to cover, he actually closed the bat face and got a soft leading edge
ABD attacking with two slips in place
22.1 Philander to Corey Anderson, no run, superb delivery to start the new spell, on a length and holds its line, Anderson pokes at it and is lucky not to have edged it behind
Vernon Philander [5.0-0-35-0] is back into the attack
22 NZ
151/4 		1  0  0  W  Wd  0  1   Corey Anderson 1 (2) Duminy 3 - 0 - 20 - 1
Runs Scored: 3 Elliott 14(16)    
21.6 Duminy to Corey Anderson, 1 run, pushes it through and gets it to zip, Anderson hangs back and punches it to sweeper cover
21.5 Duminy to Corey Anderson, no run, drifts onto the pads, Anderson misses the forward defensive, wears it on the pads. It was heading down leg though
21.5 Duminy to Corey Anderson, wide, fired down the leg-side, easy call for the umpire
Corey Anderson, left handed bat, comes to the crease
A leg slip and silly point in place..
21.4 Duminy to Ross Taylor, out Caught by de Kock!! The part-timer has struck. QDK went up straightaway and the umpire obliged. Another big wicket for South Africa and they keep plugging away. It was touch quicker and turned as well, Taylor looks to glance, but gets it too fine, QDK moves quickly to his left and hangs onto a good catch. Ross Taylor c de Kock b Duminy 30(39) [4s-4]
Goes over the wicket..
21.3 Duminy to Ross Taylor, no run, slower and on off, Taylor knocks it gently to short mid-wicket
21.2 Duminy to Ross Taylor, no run, straigher one, Taylor plays for the turn, closed the bat face early, the soft leading edge rolls towards cover
21.1 Duminy to Elliott, 1 run, Duminy starts from round the wicket, Elliott milks it away behind square leg, for a run
Jean-Paul Duminy [2.0-0-17-0] is back into the attack
21 NZ
148/3 		4  0  0  0  0  1   Elliott 13 (15) M Morkel 5 - 0 - 30 - 2
Runs Scored: 5 Ross Taylor 30(36)    
20.6 M Morkel to Elliott, 1 run, back of a length around off, Elliott knocks it in between cover and point, retains the strike with the single
20.5 M Morkel to Elliott, no run, peach! That was a beauty from Morne. It hits the seam and jags back in at 145kph, Elliott was stuck in the crease as he pushed at it, the ball beats the inside edge and zips over the stumps
20.4 M Morkel to Elliott, no run, shortish and outside off, Elliott watches it sail past him
20.3 M Morkel to Elliott, no run, short of length on off, Elliott stands up on his toes and drops it down the wicket with a loose bottom hand
20.2 M Morkel to Elliott, no run, fuller and on off, Elliott closes the bat face, the leading edge rolls to backward point, Rossouw has a shy at the striker's end, but Elliott was in
A leg slip in place now..
20.1 M Morkel to Elliott, FOUR, fabulous shot! But it looked a bit pre-meditated. Back of a length delivery on off, Elliott shuffles a long way across and glances it fine, beats the man in the deep. He just used the pace of Morkel there
Morne Morkel [4.0-0-25-2] is back into the attack
The New Zealand camp would be pleased with Taylor slowly but steadily finding his form back. Unfortunately from their perspective, Guptill was run out on the back of a terrible mix up with Taylor. Taylor isn't exactly known for his good judgment while taking singles. With dew factor coming into play, it may just help out the batting side.
With New Zealand losing wickets in quick succession, AB de Villiers missed a trick by not utilising Imran Tahir's services when Ross Taylor first took strike. It was obvious that de Villiers wanted to get through the fifth bowler's quota, but it just allowed Martin Guptill and more importantly, Taylor to pick up useful runs. Guptill even clobbered JP Duminy for a six. Vernon Philander, who suffered at the hands of Brendon McCullum made a good comeback. He extracted subtle seam movement to occasionally trouble the batsmen.
20 NZ
143/3 		1  0  1  0  0  1   Elliott 8 (9) Tahir 5 - 1 - 16 - 0
Runs Scored: 3 Ross Taylor 30(36)    
19.6 Tahir to Elliott, 1 run, flipper on the stumps, Elliott goes back and works it to the right of mid-wicket. Had he missed that, he was right in front of the sticks
19.5 Tahir to Elliott, no run, nice floaty delivery, Elliott blocks it off the outer half to short third man
19.4 Tahir to Elliott, no run, full and on off, Elliott drives and picks out short mid-wicket
Tahir still has a leg slip and silly point in place for Elliott
19.3 Tahir to Ross Taylor, 1 run, floated up on off, Taylor wrists it along the ground to long-on
19.2 Tahir to Ross Taylor, no run, tossed up on off, Taylor defends it to cover
19.1 Tahir to Elliott, 1 run, Elliott was almost deceived in the flight, he came down the track and Tahir held it back, Elliott did well to adjust and tap it towards point
19 NZ
140/3 		1  0  0  0  2  4   Ross Taylor 29 (34) Steyn 4 - 0 - 46 - 0
Runs Scored: 7 Elliott 6(5)    
18.6 Steyn to Ross Taylor, FOUR, top shot to end the over. Full and on off, it was not a bad delivery, just that it was a tad overpitched, Taylor got well forward and flicked it beautifully to the right of mid-on, the timing was excellent as the ball raced away to the fence
18.5 Steyn to Ross Taylor, 2 runs, too straight from Steyn, on middle stump, Taylor leans forward and flicks it past mid-wicket for a brace
18.4 Steyn to Ross Taylor, no run, fuller and around off, Taylor defends it towards mid-off
Taylor was not pleased himself for running out Guptill, he threw his gloves away in disappointment. That just tells you how important that wicket was for South Africa
18.3 Steyn to Ross Taylor, no run, full and targeting the stumps, Taylor plays round his pads, works it to short mid-wicket
18.2 Steyn to Ross Taylor, no run, on a length close to off, Taylor chops it towards backward point, he allowed the ball to hit the bat, instead of the other way round
18.1 Steyn to Elliott, 1 run, good length ball around off, Elliott steers it to third man with an angled bat
Dale Steyn [3.0-0-39-0] is back into the attack
As predicted Steyn is back into the attack..
18 NZ
133/3 		W  4  0  0  1  0   Ross Taylor 23 (29) Tahir 4 - 1 - 13 - 0
Runs Scored: 5 Elliott 5(4)    
17.6 Tahir to Ross Taylor, no run, flighted close to off, Taylor blocks it back to the bowler
After South Africa got rid of Guptill, they gathered around in the huddle. And this time it was Steyn who did all the talking. We might just see him come on to bowl. It was a very motivating pep talk from him.
17.5 Tahir to Elliott, 1 run, Tahir once more slips in the googly, Elliott goes down and sweeps it to long leg
17.4 Tahir to Elliott, no run, wrong 'un around off, Elliott blocks it off the inside part to the on-side
17.3 Tahir to Elliott, no run, tossed up on off, defended off the front foot
A leg slip and silly point in place
17.2 Tahir to Elliott, FOUR, nice way to open the account, Tahir had his hands on his head, but Elliott had played that well, flighted on off, Elliott kneels down and kneels down and paddles it to the fine leg fence
Grant Elliott, right handed bat, comes to the crease
17.1 Tahir to Ross Taylor, out Guptill Run Out!! A wicket gifted away by New Zealand. The double centurion from the previous game has been sent back. There is always tension when Taylor is running. He taps the leg break towards point, takes a couple of steps and hesitates, Guptill was late to take off, Amla moves forward, picks up the ball and under-arms it to QDK, who does the rest. Taylor was distraught as he saw Guptill not making his ground. This could just be the turning point in the game. Guptill run out (Amla/de Kock) 34(38) [4s-3 6s-1]
Guptill has been run out!
17 NZ
128/2 		4  1  4  1  1  1   Ross Taylor 23 (27) Philander 5 - 0 - 35 - 0
Runs Scored: 12 Guptill 34(38)    
16.6 Philander to Ross Taylor, 1 run, 'catch it' was the shout from some of the South African fielders. On a good length just outside off, Taylor pushes hard, the ball takes the outer half and eludes the outstretched left hand of the backward point fielder
16.5 Philander to Guptill, 1 run, pitched up on off, Guptill defends it to long-on, for a single
16.4 Philander to Ross Taylor, 1 run, stifled appeal for lbw, but there was some wood on that. Fuller and around off, Taylor looks to force it off the front foot, ekes out an inside edge onto the pad, the ball rolls to the on-side
16.3 Philander to Ross Taylor, FOUR, Miller is not happy with himself, he hits the turf hard with hand in disappointment. Short from Philander, Taylor fetches it from outside off and pulls it in front of square, Miller runs to his left from deep square, dives full length and pulls it in, but the ball hits his right hand and rolls away to the fence
16.2 Philander to Guptill, 1 run, banged in halfway down the wicket, Guptill is hurried on the pull, mistimes it to deep backward square leg
16.1 Philander to Guptill, FOUR, superb shot! Guptill almost took off Taylor's head. Fullish delivery on off and middle, Guptill presents the full face of the bat and hammers it past the non-striker, mid-on inside the ring had no chance
16 NZ
116/2 		0  1  1  1  0  0   Ross Taylor 17 (24) Tahir 3 - 1 - 8 - 0
Runs Scored: 3 Guptill 28(35)    
15.6 Tahir to Ross Taylor, no run, googly around off, Taylor reads it well, leans forward and blocks it to the on-side
15.5 Tahir to Ross Taylor, no run, tucks it behind square on the leg-side, wants the single but Guptill sends him back as Morne swoops in on the ball
15.4 Tahir to Guptill, 1 run, nicely tossed up, Guptill eases it to long-on, for a single
15.3 Tahir to Ross Taylor, 1 run, low full toss, Taylor reaches forward and drives it to long-on
15.2 Tahir to Guptill, 1 run, floated up on middle, swept away to deep backward square leg
15.1 Tahir to Guptill, no run, fired in full on the stumps, Guptill was shaping to play the sweep, decides against it and pushes it to short mid-wicket
15 NZ
113/2 		0  1  0  0  0  0   Ross Taylor 16 (21) Philander 4 - 0 - 23 - 0
Runs Scored: 1 Guptill 26(32)    
14.6 Philander to Ross Taylor, no run, short of length on off, Taylor knocks it to the right of the bowler, Faf runs to his left from short mid-wicket and fields the ball
14.5 Philander to Ross Taylor, no run, on a length just outside off, Taylor goes for the square drive, mistimes it to point. He went too hard at that and it was very close to his body
14.4 Philander to Ross Taylor, no run, shortens the length and gets a hint of away movement, Taylor is opened up slightly as he bunts it to cover
14.3 Philander to Ross Taylor, no run, fuller and around off, Taylor walks into the drive, finds ABD at mid-off
14.2 Philander to Guptill, 1 run, back of a length around off, Guptill punches it to sweeper cover
14.1 Philander to Guptill, no run, Guptill has a smile on his face after being beaten. Fullish and close to off, Guptill went for the flick, closed the bat face early, the ball moved away to beat the outside edge
14 NZ
112/2 		0  1  2  0  1  1   Guptill 25 (30) Tahir 2 - 1 - 5 - 0
Runs Scored: 5 Ross Taylor 16(17)    
13.6 Tahir to Guptill, 1 run, tossed up on off, Guptill goes down on one knee, sweeps it to deep backward square, Steyn makes a slight fumble, but the duo don't risk the second run
13.5 Tahir to Ross Taylor, 1 run, another wrong 'un from Tahir, Taylor nudges it with the turn to backward square leg
13.4 Tahir to Ross Taylor, no run, flighted on middle, Taylor stays low and taps it in front of short mid-wicket
13.3 Tahir to Ross Taylor, 2 runs, good running from Taylor, he wanted two as soon as he played that, he got it easily in the end. Googly, Taylor leans forward and works it to deep square leg, split the two fielders in the deep to perfection
13.2 Tahir to Guptill, 1 run, skids on after pitching, Guptill stays back and nurdles it behind square leg, for a single
13.1 Tahir to Guptill, no run, slower through the air, Guptill goes back and glances it to short fine, Taylor says no to the run
Imran Tahir [1.0-1-0-0] is back into the attack
13 NZ
107/2 		1  0  1  1  0  0   Ross Taylor 13 (14) Philander 3 - 0 - 22 - 0
Runs Scored: 3 Guptill 23(27)    
12.6 Philander to Ross Taylor, no run, good length ball around off, Taylor comes forward and defends back to the bowler, Philander thinks about throwing it back, but doesn't. That was enough to get the crowd going as they boo Philander
12.5 Philander to Ross Taylor, no run, tad short and just outside off, Taylor dabs it towards backward point, the fielder dives to his left and saves the run
12.4 Philander to Guptill, 1 run, back of a length on off and middle, Guptill goes up on one leg and tucks it to deep square leg
12.3 Philander to Ross Taylor, 1 run, shortish and outside off, Taylor cuts it to third man
During the drinks break, ABD was seen talking to his players. He was very animated in his conversation. So, was Steyn who had a few words for his team-mates. Even the substitute Behardien egged them on before leaving the field
12.2 Philander to Ross Taylor, no run, back of a length just outside off, Taylor punches and picks out JPD at cover
12.1 Philander to Guptill, 1 run, short of length and on leg-stump, Guptill glances it to fine leg
Vernon Philander [2.0-0-19-0] is back into the attack
Jamie reckons that the team which can handle pressure better will win this game. The match is nicely poised at the moment. Both teams haven't done well at the semis stage of a World Cup, which team can absorb pressure better?
Time for a drinks break. What a start it was from Baz. He set the ball rolling for the Black Caps with his 22-ball fifty. However, Morne struck twice to put the brakes on the scoring, but they need to keep chipping away, if they have to qualify for the final.
12 NZ
104/2 		0  1  6  1  1  1   Guptill 21 (25) Duminy 2 - 0 - 17 - 0
Runs Scored: 10 Ross Taylor 12(10)    
11.6 Duminy to Guptill, 1 run, flatter and on off, punched off the back foot to long-on
11.5 Duminy to Ross Taylor, 1 run, South Africa need to do something about the paddle, Taylor picks up another comfortable single down to fine leg, thought about the second but decided against it
11.4 Duminy to Guptill, 1 run, pushed through on the stumps, Guptill nudges it to the right of mid-wicket, easy single
11.3 Duminy to Guptill, SIX, that is a typical Guptill shot. He doesn't bother to watch the ball. Floated up on off, Guptill kneels down and slog sweeps it into the crowd at deep mid-wicket. He only saw the ball when it was sailing into the crowd
11.2 Duminy to Ross Taylor, 1 run, too full and on off, Taylor bends down and paddles it to long leg
11.1 Duminy to Ross Taylor, no run, Taylor was shaping up to play the cut, the ball bounced a bit extra, he plays a controlled cut towards backward point, where Amla makes a tumbling stop
11 NZ
94/2 		0  1  4  1  0  0   Guptill 13 (22) M Morkel 4 - 0 - 25 - 2
Runs Scored: 6 Ross Taylor 10(7)    
10.6 M Morkel to Guptill, no run, beauty! Short of a length just outside off, Guptill's feet went nowhere as he pushed away from the body, the extra bounce that Morkel generates beats the outside edge
10.5 M Morkel to Guptill, no run, short of length on off, Guptill hops back and across, tucks it to square leg
10.4 M Morkel to Ross Taylor, 1 run, good comeback from Morne, keeps it in the channel around off, gets a bit of extra bounce, Taylor does not go hard at it, the outside edge goes quickly to ground and rolls down to third man
10.3 M Morkel to Ross Taylor, FOUR, bad delivery from Morkel. Short and wide, plenty of width on offer, Taylor pounces onto it, he goes back and cuts it in front of square on the off-side, no sweeping on the off-side
10.2 M Morkel to Guptill, 1 run, back of a length on off, Guptill gets inside the line and works it towards mid-on, for a single
10.1 M Morkel to Guptill, no run, short and outside off, Guptill drops his gloves and lets it to go the keeper
For South Africa, Dale Steyn bowled a few outswingers early on, but he had no answer to McCullum's pyrotechnics. With Philander being smacked all over the park, AB de Villiers then introduced Morne Morkel into the attack. It was Morkel, who extracted bounce to take the vital wickets of McCullum and Kane Williamson and lift South Africa's sagging spirits. The ball seems to be zipping through the wicket under lights and the outfield is lightning quick.
Brendon McCullum played a breezy knock to give New Zealand a great start. McCullum showed his ability to pick the length early and amazing bat speed by clouting Dale Steyn over deep extra cover for a stunning six in the first over and played a thunderous shot down the ground for another six in the fifth over of the same bowler. He also thrashed Vernon Philander for two fours and a six in the second over. In short, McCullum played with a dash of fearlessness to put the opposition under pressure. He reached his fifty in just 22 balls!
10 NZ
88/2 		1  1  1  4  0  0   Ross Taylor 5 (5) Duminy 1 - 0 - 7 - 0
Runs Scored: 7 Guptill 12(18)    
9.6 Duminy to Ross Taylor, no run, slows this up, Taylor wrists it to the right of the bowler, Duminy dives across and parries the ball to the on-side, the mid-wicket fielder was backing him up and there was no one on the on-side, but the batsmen don't risk the run as Duminy gets to the ball quickly
9.5 Duminy to Ross Taylor, no run, flatter and on off, Taylor punches and finds short mid-wicket
9.4 Duminy to Ross Taylor, FOUR, Duminy errs in line and Taylor makes him pay for that. Quicker and on leg-stump, bowled at 87.4kph, Taylor kneels down and paddles it fine, no chance for the short fine fielder to stop that
9.3 Duminy to Guptill, 1 run, goes back and nurdles it to the left of square leg, where Amla is a tad slow to react
9.2 Duminy to Ross Taylor, 1 run, flighted on off, Taylor gets to the pitch and eases it to long-on
A slip in place for Taylor
9.1 Duminy to Guptill, 1 run, tossed up, turning into the pads, Guptill leans forward and nudges it wide of mid-wicket
Jean-Paul Duminy, right-arm off break, comes into the attack
New Zealand were 71/0 after 5 overs. In the next 4 overs, they have lost McCullum and Williamson and have added just 10 runs.
9 NZ
81/2 		0  0  0  4  W  0   Ross Taylor 0 (1) M Morkel 3 - 0 - 19 - 2
Runs Scored: 4 Guptill 10(16)    
8.6 M Morkel to Ross Taylor, no run, on a length close to off, Taylor is half-forward and defending to cover, he practices the defensive shot again
Ross Taylor, right handed bat, comes to the crease
8.5 M Morkel to Williamson, out Bowled!! Dragged on! Once again Morkel provides the crucial breakthrough for South Africa. Williamson is a disappointed man as he hangs his head back as soon as he heard the death rattle. Short of a length around off, Williamson went for the pull, it was too close to his body, the inside edge finds its way back onto the stumps. The Proteas are right back in it. Williamson b M Morkel 6(11) [4s-1]
8.4 M Morkel to Williamson, FOUR, lovely shot! It was trifle short and Williamson was onto it in a flash. He goes back and pulls it in front of square to the right of mid-on, the timing was superb as the ball raced away
8.3 M Morkel to Williamson, no run, Morkel gets away with a half-volley, Williamson pushes it gently to mid-off. He should have put that away
8.2 M Morkel to Williamson, no run, another solid defence from Williamson, moves forward and blocks the length delivery back down the wicket
8.1 M Morkel to Williamson, no run, tight line and length from Morkel, good length on off, Williamson comes forward and defends to cover
Jamie pings in and says that the home supporters have gone ballistic, plenty of support behind this chase and the atmosphere is electric
8 NZ
77/1 		1  0  0  0  4  0   Guptill 10 (16) Philander 2 - 0 - 19 - 0
Runs Scored: 5 Williamson 2(6)    
7.6 Philander to Guptill, no run, on a length close to off, Guptill presses it to cover after coming half-forward
7.5 Philander to Guptill, FOUR, fullish on off, Guptill goes for the flick, the bat turns in his hands, he wanted to go through mid-wicket, but the ball goes behind square, Morkel doesn't even bother to chase it from fine leg
Third man in and mid-on out
7.4 Philander to Guptill, no run, back of a length on off, Guptill punches to the right of the bowler, Philander can't reach it but mid-on backs up
7.3 Philander to Guptill, no run, good length ball attacking the stumps, Guptill plays round his pad and knocks it to mid-on. Dangerous shot to play
Two slips in place
7.2 Philander to Guptill, no run, short of length on the fourth stump line, Guptill stands tall and looks to force it through the off-side, the ball nips back in and beats the inside edge of the bat
7.1 Philander to Williamson, 1 run, Williamson walks down the pitch, he clips it to the vacant mid-wicket region
Vernon Philander [1.0-0-14-0] is back into the attack
7 NZ
72/1 		W  0  0  0  0  1   Williamson 1 (5) M Morkel 2 - 0 - 15 - 1
Runs Scored: 1 Guptill 6(11)    
6.6 M Morkel to Williamson, 1 run, too straight from Morkel, on middle and leg, Williamson walks across, inside edges it onto the thigh pad and the ball dribbles to the left of QDK
Now the second slip moves to gully. To prevent the dab down to third man...
6.5 M Morkel to Williamson, no run, back of a length just outside off, Williamson stands tall and punches it to backward point, picks out Rossouw there
6.4 M Morkel to Williamson, no run, good length ball on off, Williamson gets right behind the line and defends to the right of the bowler
ABD has a chat with his bowler. Doesn't change anything in the field. Morkel is still operating with two slips.
6.3 M Morkel to Williamson, no run, back of a length on off and middle, Williamson gets behind the line and tucks it to square leg, straight to the fielder
6.2 M Morkel to Williamson, no run, lifter to greet the new batsman, Williamson ducks under it and allows the ball to sail over him
Kane Williamson, right handed bat, comes to the crease
6.1 M Morkel to Brendon McCullum, out Caught by Steyn!! 'Game on Doully', says Graeme Smith on air. Huge moment in the game and the South Africans know it. Steyn throws the ball up after completing the catch. He knows the importance of this wicket. It was a short of length delivery, McCullum comes down the track, goes leg-side and flat-bats, he was trying to go over mid-on, can't get the elevation and offers a simple catch to Steyn. Brendon McCullum c Steyn b M Morkel 59(26) [4s-8 6s-4]
Morne Morkel [1.0-0-14-0] is back into the attack
6 NZ
71/0 		0  0  0  0  0  0   Guptill 6 (11) Tahir 1 - 1 - 0 - 0
Runs Scored: 0 Brendon McCullum 59(25)    
5.6 Tahir to Guptill, no run, slider on leg-stump, Guptill misses the flick, is rapped on the pads. It was sneaking down leg
5.5 Tahir to Guptill, no run, googly that turns back in, Guptill goes for the big drive, the inside edge is found and it hits the pad
5.4 Tahir to Guptill, no run, flighted on off and middle, Guptill kneels down and misses the sweep, is struck on the back thigh. Tahir thought he had his man, so did QDK as the pair asked ABD to go for the review. Hawk-Eye showed that the ball pitched in-line and was going over the stumps. That was a top decision from umpire Tucker
South Africa have reviewed an LBW appeal against Guptill. The front foot is fine, can we move on says the third umpire. Let's go to RTS here. Just rock and roll that, thank you. There is definitely no bat. Can we go to ball tracker please. Tuck, I am coming to you. There is a green, stay with your onfield call, says umpire Nigel Llong
5.3 Tahir to Guptill, no run, tossed up on off, Guptill drives and picks out mid-off
5.2 Tahir to Guptill, no run, stifled appeal for caught behind, the googly, Guptill misses the forward defensive, the ball lobs off the pad, QDK moves to his left and takes it. It didn't take the bat on the way
5.1 Tahir to Guptill, no run, slider on middle and leg, Guptill fails to clip it away, wears it on the pad, the ball was heading down leg
Imran Tahir, right-arm leg break, comes into the attack
5 NZ
71/0 		6  Wd  4  6  4  4  0   Brendon McCullum 59 (25) Steyn 3 - 0 - 39 - 0
Runs Scored: 25 Guptill 6(5)    
4.6 Steyn to Brendon McCullum, no run, a rare miss from McCullum, shimmies down the wicket, Steyn fires it full and wide of off, McCullum had made just a bit too much room, he can't connect. 25 runs off the over and New Zealand are flying at the moment
4.5 Steyn to Brendon McCullum, FOUR, McCullum is toying with the field now. This is a terrific shot from the skipper. Fuller and around off, McCullum opens the bat face at the last instant, drives it between point and cover, the ball speeds away to the fence
4.4 Steyn to Brendon McCullum, FOUR, this is carnage at Eden Park. The premier fast bowler in the world is being taken to the cleaners. Low full toss down leg, McCullum gets some wood and tickles it fine, fielder in the ring and it is easy pickings
4.3 Steyn to Brendon McCullum, SIX, What a man! McCullum gets to his 31st ODI fifty in just 22 balls. Banged in halfway down the wicket, McCullum rocks back and pulls it over backward square, the crowd are enjoying the onslaught. He raises the bat and acknowledges the applause from the Eden Park faithfuls
There is only one slip in place.
4.2 Steyn to Brendon McCullum, FOUR, brute power! This is all muscle from the Kiwi skipper. Steyn has a wry smile on his face. Short of a length delivery, McCullum advances down the wicket and flat-bats it to the right of mid-off, ABD could only watch it go past him
4.2 Steyn to Brendon McCullum, wide, sprays it down leg, McCullum can't connect with the glance, easy call for the umpire
4.1 Steyn to Brendon McCullum, SIX, monster hit! McCullum is tearing the South African bowling apart. The 50 comes up in just the 5th over. Gives the charge to Steyn, converts it into a length delivery, he hammers it straight down the ground and it is the biggest six of the game
4 NZ
46/0 		4  0  0  4  1  Wd  4   Guptill 6 (5) M Morkel 1 - 0 - 14 - 0
Runs Scored: 14 Brendon McCullum 35(19)    
3.6 M Morkel to Guptill, FOUR, Morkel bowls a juicy full ball on middle and leg, Guptill says thank you very much and puts it away. He leans forward and flicks it elegantly, the timing on that takes it to the fence
3.6 M Morkel to Guptill, wide, splays it down leg, Guptill can't lay bat on ball, wide given
3.5 M Morkel to Brendon McCullum, 1 run, short delivery with bit more pace, McCullum is hurried on the pull shot, he splices it in the air and the ball drops in the unmanned mid-wicket region
3.4 M Morkel to Brendon McCullum, FOUR, even mistimed shots are going to the boundary. McCullum was waiting for the short of length delivery, he swivels and toe-ends the pull through mid-wicket. Even though it rained, the ball travels to the fence
3.3 M Morkel to Brendon McCullum, no run, Morkel keeps it shortish and around off, McCullum is cramped for room, he chops it towards cover, lifts his hand up and calls 'wait on, wait on' for the single
3.2 M Morkel to Brendon McCullum, no run, back of a length on middle and leg, McCullum inside edges the pull onto the thigh, the ball rolls down the wicket. Baz shakes his head in disappointment
3.1 M Morkel to Brendon McCullum, FOUR, McCullum greets Morkel to the crease with a boundary. Short of a length, McCullum goes back and pulls it over mid-on, goes on the bounce to the rope. He almost took out the camerman there
Morne Morkel, right-arm fast, comes into the attack
3 NZ
32/0 		0  1  0  0  4  1   Brendon McCullum 26 (14) Steyn 2 - 0 - 14 - 0
Runs Scored: 6 Guptill 2(4)    
2.6 Steyn to Brendon McCullum, 1 run, sensible batting, on a length close to off, McCullum didn't have the width to free his arms, taps it to the vacant cover region and collects the single
2.5 Steyn to Brendon McCullum, FOUR, South Africa are bowling to McCullum's strength. Short and plenty of room on offer, McCullum flays it just over mid-off, ABD runs to his left, jumps up but can't reach
2.4 Steyn to Brendon McCullum, no run, short of length just outside off, McCullum goes back and punches it sweetly, that was on it's way for four before Rossouw dives to his right at backward point and intervenes. That had four written all over it
Some problem with Steyn's shoe. The umpire is tightening the screws on the studs. All sorted out and he is ready to go.
2.3 Steyn to Brendon McCullum, no run, tad short and outside off, McCullum throws his bat at that, fails to make contact. It was there to be put away and McCullum missed out
2.2 Steyn to Guptill, 1 run, run-out chance missed! Guptill was out by a long way. It just needed a direct hit. Good length ball around off, Guptill taps it towards point, sets off before being sent back, Duminy runs to his right and fires at the striker's end, Guptill was not even in the picture. They collect an overthrow as there was no one backing up
2.1 Steyn to Guptill, no run, Guptill wants to join in the fun, fullish and outside off, Guptill goes for the ambitious drive, the ball swings enough to beat the outside edge
2 NZ
26/0 		4B  6  4  0  0  4   Brendon McCullum 21 (10) Philander 1 - 0 - 14 - 0
Runs Scored: 18 Guptill 1(2)    
1.6 Philander to Brendon McCullum, FOUR, poor first over from Philander. Baz has straightaway put pressure on him. Remember he is playing his first game after many days. Back of a length delivery, McCullum gets inside the line and whips it behind square leg, fine leg was inside the ring and that was easy pickings
1.5 Philander to Brendon McCullum, no run, another one that comes right off the middle, but a nice field set by ABD. He has stationed himself right on the edge of the 30-yard circle at mid-off, McCullum finds him with a crisp drive
1.4 Philander to Brendon McCullum, no run, once more McCullum is charging down the wicket, he can't get the desired connection, inside edges it onto the pad, the ball dribbles towards backward point
1.3 Philander to Brendon McCullum, FOUR, Philander not learning from his mistakes. Keeps it short of length on off and middle, McCullum pulls it in front of square, didn't get it off the middle, hence the ball didn't travel the distance
1.2 Philander to Brendon McCullum, SIX, can't bowl short to Baz, it was on leg-stump as well, McCullum swivels across and pulls it over backward square for his second six. He is up and running already and so is this crowd
1.1 Philander to Brendon McCullum, byes, FOUR, Philander sees the batsman skip out of the crease, digs it in short, McCullum decides to take it on, but the ball get big on him, he misses and QDK can't reach it even with a leap. Bonus runs for New Zealand
Vernon Philander, right-arm fast medium, comes into the attack
1 NZ
8/0 		1  0  0  6  1  0   Guptill 1 (2) Steyn 1 - 0 - 8 - 0
Runs Scored: 8 Brendon McCullum 7(4)    
0.6 Steyn to Guptill, no run, good length ball around off, Guptill prefers to stay in the crease and knock it to cover
AB brings in an extra catcher. A fielder has been placed at gully..
0.5 Steyn to Brendon McCullum, 1 run, banged in short and at the batsman, McCullum opens the bat face and guides it to third man. It was in the air for a while, but there was no gully in position
0.4 Steyn to Brendon McCullum, SIX, what a way to get going. Shortish and sat up nicely for Baz outside off, McCullum stands up and forehands it over extra cover, short boundaries carry the ball all the way
0.3 Steyn to Brendon McCullum, no run, shortish and outside off, McCullum looks to flay it over point, but the extra bounce does him there
Takes a bit of time to put it on and in the meantime Guptill walks up and has a chat with him.
0.2 Steyn to Brendon McCullum, no run, what happened there? McCullum's right shoe comes off. Short of a length delivery, McCullum goes back to defend, he knocks it towards cover, loses his balance and falls over. That was because his shoe came off
0.1 Steyn to Guptill, 1 run, edged and just wide of the fielder. Graeme Smith on air was excited as Doull tells him to take it easy. Fullish and on off, Guptill brings his bat down at an angle, the outside edge flies to the left of backward point and down to third man
Guptill and Brendon McCullum are at the crease. Guptill is on strike. Steyn will open the attack

RSA INNINGS

The South Africans are in a huddle. ABD is having a pep talk before they enter the field. Most of the Proteas have a towel with them to keep the ball dry. McCullum and Guptill are in the middle. The latter will take strike. This is going to be one heck of a chase if these two get going. Steyn has the new ball. He will start with two slips. Here we go...
Boult: 'Yeah, it is. Credit to the South African batsmen for pushing it to 280 odd. 40,000 people do that to you (referring to the nerves at the start of the innings). We are familiar with this wicket, it is all upto us now. Let's see what we can do.'
The deck is good for batting and with short boundaries in place, New Zealand still have a chance of chasing down this target. However, their batsmen need to handle the pressure of playing a knockout game.
Earlier, Trent Boult produced a fine exhibition of swing bowling to give New Zealand a slight edge. Hashim Amla and de Kock couldn't make their mark as Boult snared their wickets. However, du Plessis and Rilee Rossouw soothed the tangle of nerves in the dressing room with a fine stand. Once Rossouw was dismissed on the back of a stunning catch taken by Martin Guptill at backward point, de Villiers burst forth with a wide range of versatile shots.
de Villiers even showcased his ability to play strokes in a 360-degree arc by essaying delectable shots through the third man region. His deft touch echoed cheekiness in stroke-play. Their opponents, New Zealand, would rue the fact that Kane Williamson dropped a tough chance at the cover region. In fact, it wasn't a great day for New Zealand in the field as they missed a series of half chances. In a big game and against a formidable opponent, those chances need to be taken.
du Plessis played with steady perfection and looked unfazed by the loss of early wickets. He mainly targeted straight boundaries. However, once du Plessis reached his fifty, he played with precise metre of timing to nonchalantly loft Matt Henry for a six. It was a quality knock from du Plessis. de Villiers too crafted a splendid innings. He cut, drove and pulled; unhurried and languid. de Villiers also effortlessly essayed strokes down the ground with a stamp of authority. It was in the 33rd over of the innings when de Villiers cracked a couple of boundaries off Henry to send warning signals to the opposition. He also took a heavy toll of some poor bowling by Corey Anderson to tonk him for 15 runs in the 36th over. The way de Villiers came down the track and pulled Anderson for a six, gave a glimpse of his shot-making ability. It continued to rain fours and sixes from de Villiers' bat as he bisected gaps in the field with customary ease.
In the backdrop of a charged up atmosphere created by a raucous crowd, Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers constructed marvellous knocks to take South Africa to a very good total. For a while rain stopped play and New Zealand now will chase down a D/L adjusted score. Once play resumed after a rain break, David Miller cracked power-packed shots to put them in a position of strength.
So, South Africa finish on 281 in their 43 overs. Time to get the calculators out. The final D/L target for New Zealand would be somewhere close to 298. Let's just wait for the final confirmation. Alright, we have the revised target, New Zealand need 298 runs in 43 overs, just under 7 rpo.
43 RSA
281/5 		6  W  0  4  Wd  2  2   Duminy 8 (4) Corey Anderson 6 - 0 - 72 - 3
Runs Scored: 15 de Villiers 65(45)    
42.6 Corey Anderson to Duminy, 2 runs, short of length on off, Duminy mishits the pull in front of square, AB pushes Duminy for the second and the pair make it in comfortably
42.5 Corey Anderson to Duminy, 2 runs, on a length just outside off, Duminy goes for the inside out loft, mistimes it and gets it just over extra cover, McCullum tries his best to get there, but can't even get a finger on it, the sweeper mops up
42.5 Corey Anderson to Duminy, wide, short and well over the batsman, easy call for the umpire
42.4 Corey Anderson to Duminy, FOUR, dropped! Nathan McCullum on as a substitute misjudges it completely. Full and outside off, Duminy stretches out and lofts the drive, McCullum standing at the edge of the ring at extra cover, jumps and gets a finger on it, but he can't hang on
42.3 Corey Anderson to Duminy, no run, Duminy tries something fancy and it doesn't come off, back of a length on off, Duminy walks across his stumps and tries to lap it over short fine, fails to do so
Jean-Paul Duminy, left handed bat, comes to the crease
42.2 Corey Anderson to D Miller, out Caught by Ronchi!! A magnificent innings comes to an end. ABD congratulates him on his way. Miller missed out equalling the fastest World Cup fifty. It was cleverly bowled by Anderson, saw the batsman moving away to the leg-side, pushed it well wide of off, Miller had to reach out and he could only manage a feather through to Ronchi. D Miller c Ronchi b Corey Anderson 49(18) [4s-6 6s-3]
42.1 Corey Anderson to D Miller, SIX, Miller starts the over with a six. The catch is dropped in the crowd. Fuller and around off, Miller shuffles across and tonks it over long-on, it landed on the second tier
Last over of the innings coming up. It will be Anderson to bowl the crucial over.
42 RSA
266/4 		4  1  0  1  1B  0   de Villiers 65 (45) Southee 9 - 1 - 55 - 0
Runs Scored: 7 D Miller 43(16)    
41.6 Southee to de Villiers, no run, good finish to the over. Just the 7 runs off it. Slower ball bouncer, de Villiers is early into the pull, Miller thought about pinching another run, but ABD was in no position to respond as he got himself into an awkward tangle
41.5 Southee to D Miller, byes, 1 run, AB is quick in calling Miller for a quick bye. Southee goes short and angles it across, Miller can't connect with the pull, the batsmen steal a brisk single
41.4 Southee to de Villiers, 1 run, good ball from Southee, almost in the blockhole, de Villiers squeezes it straight down the ground, long-on tidies up
41.3 Southee to de Villiers, no run, AB is struggling for timing after the break. Banged in midway down the pitch, de Villiers has a wild swing at it and doesn't make contact. He is not happy with himself
41.2 Southee to D Miller, 1 run, much better from Southee, too full and around off, Miller drills the drive to long-off, where a fielder has been placed now
41.1 Southee to D Miller, FOUR, Southee is not helping Baz here. Continues bowling length deliveries, even though it was a off-speed ball, it was on a length, Miller hammers it past mid-off, no chance for the Kiwi skipper to stop that
41 RSA
259/4 		4  Wd  1  1  6  6  1   D Miller 38 (13) Corey Anderson 5 - 0 - 57 - 2
Runs Scored: 20 de Villiers 64(42)    
40.6 Corey Anderson to D Miller, 1 run, short and at the body, Miller swivels and pulls it along the ground to deep backward square leg
40.5 Corey Anderson to D Miller, SIX, that is more like it. It was in the arc and was sent soaring out of the park. Length ball close to off, Miller steps forward and plays the pick up shot over deep mid-wicket. The ball travelled a long way
40.4 Corey Anderson to D Miller, SIX, what a shot! The short boundaries helping Miller. Short of a length delivery, Miller comes down the track and backs away to the leg-side and flat-bats it over the bowler's head, goes flat and for a 69 metre six
40.3 Corey Anderson to de Villiers, 1 run, AB missed out there, low full toss, angling in from round the wicket, de Villiers mistimes the hoick to deep mid-wicket, just a single
40.2 Corey Anderson to D Miller, 1 run, too full and on off, almost a yorker, Miller couldn't get under it, drives it to long-on
40.2 Corey Anderson to D Miller, wide, bumper on the stumps, Miller can't connect with the pull, wide called for height
40.1 Corey Anderson to D Miller, FOUR, after rain, it is raining fours from Miller's bat. Length delivery from round the wicket, Miller goes for a wild heave across the line, the top-edge flies over short third man, almost travels the distance
Coming to the Faf wicket, once the decision was made. He walked past his skipper and ABD punched his gloves as if saying well played.
40 RSA
239/4 		4  4  0  4  4  1   D Miller 20 (8) Southee 8 - 1 - 49 - 0
Runs Scored: 17 de Villiers 63(41)    
39.6 Southee to D Miller, 1 run, cramps the batsman for room with the short delivery, Miller plays the short-arm pull to deep mid-wicket, retains the strike
39.5 Southee to D Miller, FOUR, fourth boundary off the over and Southee is under pressure. Slower delivery around off, Miller drills it past AB at the non-striker's end, Baz dives over the ball at mid-off and it races away to the fence
39.4 Southee to D Miller, FOUR, Southee once again misses the yorker, ends up dishing out a full toss outside off, Miller relies on placement, he lofts it to the right of mid-off, Baz has no chance of stopping that
39.3 Southee to D Miller, no run, sees the batsman give charge, digs it in short, Miller tries to take it on, but it is just too quick and goes over his bat. The umpire signals one for the over
39.2 Southee to D Miller, FOUR, poor delivery from Southee, goes for the wide yorker, provides plenty of width, Miller reaches out and squeezes it to the third man fence. No chance for the fielder in the deep as it went fine
Switches to round the wicket..
39.1 Southee to D Miller, FOUR, smashed! Stand and deliver stuff from Miller. Full delivery from round the wicket, right in the arc for Miller, who clears his front leg and goes straight, mid-off was inside the ring and it goes on the bounce to the boundary
Tim Southee [7.0-1-32-0] is back into the attack
39 RSA
222/4 		1  W  2  1  2  0   de Villiers 63 (41) Corey Anderson 4 - 0 - 37 - 2
Runs Scored: 6 D Miller 3(2)    
38.6 Corey Anderson to de Villiers, no run, short delivery outside off, de Villiers tries to reach and upper cut, but can't make the required connection
38.5 Corey Anderson to de Villiers, 2 runs, nice juicy full toss, de Villiers stays leg-side of the ball and slices it towards sweeper, the bat turned in his hands. Hence didn't get the timing right. Elliott runs to his left and taps the ball into play
Goes round the wicket
38.4 Corey Anderson to D Miller, 1 run, banged in halfway down the wicket, Miller flat-bats it to long-on, for a single
McCullum still attacking, he has a slip in place for the new batsman. Anderson goes over the wicket..
38.3 Corey Anderson to D Miller, 2 runs, continues round the wicket for the left-hander, full and around off, Miller leans forward and clips it to deep mid-wicket, AB pushes for two and gets back easily for the second
David Miller, left handed bat, comes to the crease
38.2 Corey Anderson to du Plessis, out Caught by Ronchi!! Anderson goes up for a caught behind appeal, but nothing from Ronchi. But, Baz has gone for the review. Umpire Gould even signalled it a wide. The front foot is good says the third umpire. Can you zoom in on the glove? Asks the TV umpire. He wants a much closer look on that. The RTS is coming up now. There is a spike on the Snicko. Ian, I have got clear evidence. You are on camera, you can change your decision. The finger is raised and Faf is walking back to the pavilion. That was a top review from Anderson, who convinced Baz. Coming to the ball, it was short and down leg, du Plessis goes for the pull and looks to help it on the way, the ball kisses the glove on the way to Ronchi. The keeper was not sure, but the bowler was. du Plessis c Ronchi b Corey Anderson 82(107) [4s-7 6s-1]
38.1 Corey Anderson to de Villiers, 1 run, super stop by Henry, saved three runs there. Full delivery on the stumps, de Villiers backs away and drills it to long-on, Henry runs to his left, dives and stops the ball going any further
Starts from round the wicket..
The lights are on and it is nice and clear. The stumps are back in place. The big rope is going round the outfield. All set for the resumption. Waiting for the umpires who will take the ground any time now. ABD and Faf make their way out to the middle. The former walks in practising a few swings with the bat. Anderson is on top of his run-up. Baz making the last minute field changes.
18:30 Local Time, 05:30 GMT, 11:00 IST: South Africa were in the middle of the batting powerplay and had 2 more overs left, but that has been cancelled. New Zealand will have 9 overs of mandatory powerplay and 4 overs batting powerplay. Three bowlers can bowl 9 overs while 2 can bowl 8. So, Boult and Vettori have finished. Southee, Henry and the other (Anderson/Williamson/Elliott) bowler have to bowl the 5 overs.
18:26 Local Time, 05:26 GMT, 10:56 IST: Play to start at 18:45 local time. The match has been reduced to 43-overs per side. Meaning, that South Africa have only 5 more overs to bat. We'll keep you updated on the revised playing conditions.
18:14 Local Time, 05:14 GMT, 10:44 IST: Loud cheer from the crowd at Eden Park as the covers are being removed. The groundsmen are working on drying the outfield. The big rope is being used to clear the water. There is a lot of water gathered on the cover as well. So, it will take a few minutes before play resumes.
18:06 Local Time, 05:06 GMT, 10:36 IST: Rain has stopped. It is clearing up and blue skies hover across the west side of the ground. Still no update on how many overs will be deducted. The BlackCaps just tweeted this a minute back, 'The rain has stopped at Eden Park. No action from the groundsmen yet. A few of the punters are returning to the uncovered seats. #nzvsa'
17:50 Local Time, 04:50 GMT, 10:20 IST: Well, it's been an hour since play was stopped. We'll start losing overs from now.
17:40 Local Time, 04:40 GMT, 10:10 IST: We only start losing overs after play has been halted for an hour. Till now it has been only 50 minutes. And some good news from Eden Park as the covers are being peeled off. Strike all that. The covers are back on. It's that kind of a day. Jamie strolled out to check on the weather and that's when it started to drizzle again.
17:32 Local Time, 04:32 GMT, 10:02 IST: Another update from Jamie, he says, the rain has slowed down. Hopefully, it is for the good this time. The rain has cleared in the background. Just waiting for it to completely stop.
17:25 Local Time, 04:25 GMT, 09:55 IST: Oops! The rain has gone a bit heavier says Jamie. With the rain easing off, the umpires were expected to have a look at the conditions shortly, but for now, they will have to postpone their inspection.
17:10 Local Time, 04:10 GMT, 09:40 IST: There is a reserve day, just to keep you informed, but the rain is not all that heavy and there is nothing threatening on the radar as well. As I type this, Jamie says that the rain is easing off.
17:01 Local Time, 04:01 GMT, 09:31 IST: It is still raining out there. South Africa would hope that this is just a short delay as these two are looking solid to score at a brisk rate. If overs are lost and D/L comes into play, New Zealand could have a bit of an advantage, especially with shorter boundaries. A 12-minute delay was good enough to spoil South Africa's party 23 years ago. Fingers crossed.
16:51 Local Time, 03:51 GMT, 09:21 IST: The rain has arrived and the umpires have called for the covers. It's not all that heavy though. The hessian comes on before the plastic sheets are put in place.
38 RSA
216/3 		1  1  1  4  1  4   du Plessis 82 (106) Boult 9 - 0 - 53 - 2
Runs Scored: 12 de Villiers 60(38)    
37.6 Boult to du Plessis, FOUR, Boult misses the yorker and bowls a low full toss outside off stump, du Plessis doesn't try to overhit the ball, with mid-off very square, places it close to the non-striker and it races away. The hundred partnership is up off just 71 balls
37.5 Boult to de Villiers, 1 run, pulls the short ball to deep mid-wicket
37.4 Boult to de Villiers, FOUR, freakish hit that! With third man inside the ring, de Villiers, who was standing across the stumps, went deep in the crease and waited for the short of length delivery to come. He guided it at the last moment to send it between backward point and short third man
37.3 Boult to du Plessis, 1 run, goes across the stumps, waits for the slower ball bouncer to arrive and helps it behind square on the on-side
37.2 Boult to de Villiers, 1 run, carefully tucks this good length delivery to the left of short fine leg for a run
37.1 Boult to du Plessis, 1 run, short of length delivery outside off stump, du Plessis cuts it to deep backward point. The fielder in the ring dived to his right and got his fingertips to it
Trent Boult [8.0-0-41-2] is back into the attack
Fine leg and third man are inside the ring.
37 RSA
204/3 		1  1  1  1  0  1   du Plessis 76 (103) Southee 7 - 1 - 32 - 0
Runs Scored: 5 de Villiers 54(35)    
36.6 Southee to du Plessis, 1 run, just misses the yorker and du Plessis works it away through backward square leg to keep strike
36.5 Southee to du Plessis, no run, yorker outside off stump, du Plessis jams it out to cover
36.4 Southee to de Villiers, 1 run, in the airrrr and it's landed between two converging fielders. Short and on the stumps, de Villiers goes for the pull, is hurried by the pace on the ball a bit, the ball hits the splice of the bat and goes up, mid-wicket (Taylor) runs to his right and the man from the deep (Henry) runs forward as well, but the ball evades both fielders. de Villiers was a worried man for a moment
36.3 Southee to du Plessis, 1 run, yorker cramping the batsman for room, du Plessis flicks it to deep square leg as he loses balance
36.2 Southee to de Villiers, 1 run, slower ball just outside off stump, de Villiers drives it to mid-off and sets off, Baz runs forward quickly and fires a direct-hit but de Villiers was quick to make his ground. The umpire goes upstairs to be safe and de Villiers was well in
36.1 Southee to du Plessis, 1 run, du Plessis waits for the length ball to come and dabs it to third man
Tim Southee [6.0-1-27-0] is back into the attack
Great start to the powerplay for South Africa. 15 runs off the first 6 balls.
36 RSA
199/3 		1  0  6  4  4  0   de Villiers 52 (33) Corey Anderson 3 - 0 - 31 - 1
Runs Scored: 15 du Plessis 73(99)    
35.6 Corey Anderson to de Villiers, no run, short of length just outside off stump, de Villiers works it to the right of mid-wicket, where the fielder is swift to get to the ball
35.5 Corey Anderson to de Villiers, FOUR, 6, 4, 4 after being dropped. That's why you don't drop a guy like de Villiers. Gentle length ball from Anderson, de Villiers steps out and drives it along the ground past the non-striker. That brings up his 46th ODI fifty, de Villiers raises his bat to acknowledge the applause
35.4 Corey Anderson to de Villiers, FOUR, full and outside off stump, de Villiers drives it wide of mid-off and the fielder had no chance as it was hit to his left
35.3 Corey Anderson to de Villiers, SIX, straightaway he starts to hurt! Short of a length delivery from Anderson, de Villiers advances and smashes the pull very hard and it goes high over deep mid-wicket
35.2 Corey Anderson to de Villiers, no run, in the airrrrr and dropped. My word! How costly is it going to be? Good length delivery outside off stump, de Villiers slaps it hard, doesn't bother to keep it down, Williamson moves to his left at cover, gets both hands to it but spills it
35.1 Corey Anderson to du Plessis, 1 run, short of length delivery angling away from the right-hander, du Plessis drives it to deep cover
35 RSA
184/3 		0  2  1  1  1  4   de Villiers 38 (28) Matt Henry 8 - 2 - 40 - 0
Runs Scored: 9 du Plessis 72(98)    
34.6 Matt Henry to de Villiers, FOUR, deft touch! There was a man at fly slip, but McCullum moved him wide for this ball and de Villiers has picked the gap between the keeper and slip. Great placement there from de Villiers. He waited for the short of length delivery to come and just opens the face of the bat at the last moment to dab it fine to the third man boundary
34.5 Matt Henry to du Plessis, 1 run, easily dabbed down to third man
34.4 Matt Henry to de Villiers, 1 run, good length delivery outside off stump, de Villiers guides it down to third man
Looks like de Villiers jammed his helmet onto his face as he dived there. He takes a bit of time. Maybe the dust went into his eyes as well. He's fine now
34.3 Matt Henry to du Plessis, 1 run, ohhh! A direct-hit would have been very close. Faf du Plessis, make sure you get your call right. He hit it straight to cover and set off, remember, Faf ran out ABdV in that quarter-final four years ago against the same opposition. Thankfully for South Africa, Kane Williamson, who took a long time to throw the ball missed the stumps. In fact, the athlete that he is, ABdV just made his ground as the ball passed the stumps
34.2 Matt Henry to du Plessis, 2 runs, driven off the back foot, the fielder at cover dives to his left but the ball escapes. Elliott misfields the ball running forward from sweeper and South Africa get an extra run
34.1 Matt Henry to du Plessis, no run, good length delivery outside off stump, pushed into the off-side
34 RSA
175/3 		1  0  4  Wd  1  2  4   de Villiers 33 (26) Corey Anderson 2 - 0 - 16 - 1
Runs Scored: 13 du Plessis 68(94)    
33.6 Corey Anderson to de Villiers, FOUR, this is a poor bowling from Anderson. Bangs the slower ball short, it is not short enough to fox the batsman either, de Villiers waits on the back foot and pulls it easily through mid-wicket. Expensive over that, 13 came off it. South Africa are shifting gears nicely before the batting powerplay
33.5 Corey Anderson to de Villiers, 2 runs, again very short and wide outside off stump from Anderson, de Villiers cuts it in front of square on the off-side, Southee runs to his right and saves two
33.4 Corey Anderson to du Plessis, 1 run, good length delivery on the off stump, du Plessis flicks it to deep mid-wicket
33.4 Corey Anderson to du Plessis, wide, sprays the slower ball way outside off stump, left alone
33.3 Corey Anderson to du Plessis, FOUR, short and outside off stump, du Plessis fetches the pull nicely, hits it from the middle of the bat and rolls his wrists over the ball to keep it down and it raced away to the deep mid-wicket boundary. That brings up the 50-run stand as well
33.2 Corey Anderson to du Plessis, no run, walks across the stumps, shortish slower ball from Anderson, du Plessis taps it to cover
33.1 Corey Anderson to de Villiers, 1 run, short and width on offer, de Villiers cuts it to the man sweeping on the off-side
Corey Anderson [1.0-0-3-1] is back into the attack
Drinks are on the field now
33 RSA
162/3 		4  0  0  2  4  1   de Villiers 26 (23) Matt Henry 7 - 2 - 31 - 0
Runs Scored: 11 du Plessis 63(91)    
32.6 Matt Henry to de Villiers, 1 run, short of length and following de Villiers, who arches back and drops the ball to third man, for a single
For the first time in the innings B Mac has taken out a slip for a fast bowler
32.5 Matt Henry to de Villiers, FOUR, de Villiers is turning it on now. Goes deep in his crease and drills the full ball wide of mid-on. Used the depth of the crease well there. Miller has a smile, as does de Villiers
32.4 Matt Henry to de Villiers, 2 runs, shortish outside off, another cutter, de Villiers cuts off the front foot to deep extra cover, two taken
32.3 Matt Henry to de Villiers, no run, well bowled by Matt Henry. Saw de Villiers advancing and dug it in short, de Villiers played it well too, arching back and letting it go to Ronchi
32.2 Matt Henry to de Villiers, no run, full outside off, left alone
32.1 Matt Henry to de Villiers, FOUR, classy from de Villiers. Rocks back and punches the slower delivery from Matt Henry wide of mid-on. Dead-straight bat from de Villiers as he transferred his weight back and then found the gap. The followthrough was great too
32 RSA
151/3 		1  0  4  1  4  1   de Villiers 15 (17) Vettori 9 - 0 - 46 - 0
Runs Scored: 11 du Plessis 63(91)    
31.6 Vettori to de Villiers, 1 run, de Villiers skips out and dabs wide of cover, looks for two, not there
31.5 Vettori to de Villiers, FOUR, that is smashed. de Villiers comes down the track and takes it on the full, drills it past the left-hand of Vettori, long-off had no chance as that was hit with immense power
31.4 Vettori to du Plessis, 1 run, du Plessis gets forward and eases a drive to long-on
31.3 Vettori to du Plessis, FOUR, now an outside edge runs through vacant slip. Vettori is disappointed. But gave du Plessis the width, cut and edged, beats Henry at short third. Raced away
31.2 Vettori to du Plessis, no run, B Mac anticipates the drive and moves quickly to his right at short cover to stop. du Plessis came down and hit it well, but B Mac was too good
31.1 Vettori to de Villiers, 1 run, flatter and de Villiers punches square of the wicket
31 RSA
140/3 		1  0  2  0  6  2   du Plessis 58 (88) Matt Henry 6 - 2 - 20 - 0
Runs Scored: 11 de Villiers 9(14)    
30.6 Matt Henry to du Plessis, 2 runs, now aggressive running, gives him two, turned through square leg, he races back for the second. Superb from Faf
30.5 Matt Henry to du Plessis, SIX, du Plessis has a smile on his face after that six. Down the track and then lofted straight back over the bowler's head. Carries a long way into the stands. This is a small ground and once you connect, it goes a long, long way
30.4 Matt Henry to du Plessis, no run, good length outside off, dabbed straight to the fielder at point
30.3 Matt Henry to du Plessis, 2 runs, du Plessis gets to fifty with a pull over mid-wicket, hit in the air and in the gap too. Raises his bat and de Villiers walks up to him, shakes his hand. The South African contingent are up on their feet applauding
30.2 Matt Henry to du Plessis, no run, back of a length outside off, not short to pull, but du Plessis goes through with the shot, right off the toe-end and the ball rolls to short cover
Wondering why a couple of paras of text have popped in? Then let me remind you that, we are detailing events that have happened every 10 overs. So that you don't miss out on anything. So that's why you will see text coming up after the end of every 10 overs. Just a heads up!
30.1 Matt Henry to de Villiers, 1 run, back of a length outside off, de Villiers taps it to deep square leg
Matt Henry [5.0-2-9-0] is back into the attack
On occasions, Rilee Rossouw hasn't looked convincing against spin in his brief career. However, he too looked in fine touch when facing up to Daniel Vettori. Rossouw then tonked Grant Elliott for a six. At the other end of the spectrum, New Zealand's captain, Brendon McCullum, continued to look for wickets. He is known for trying out a part-timer and it shouldn't surprise anyone that he introduced Kane Williamson into the attack. Williamson could have produced the vital breakthrough by snaffling the wicket of du Plessis, but New Zealand didn't go for a review after the on-field umpire turned down an appeal for lbw. Just in the nick of time, it was Corey Anderson, who took the wicket of Rossouw as the raucous crowd came back to life. Anderson certainly has a habit of breaking partnerships. Credit also has to go to Martin Guptill for plucking a catch out of thin air at backward point.
It was Faf du Plessis, who looked to shore up South Africa's innings. du Plessis believes in the old maxim of playing each ball on its merit. He used his feet to loft Tim Southee and then played a crisply timed shot down the ground to collect a couple of boundaries in the 21st over. du Plessis targeting straight boundaries just goes to show that he is a street-smart cricketer.
30 RSA
129/3 		1  1  1  0  1  0   du Plessis 48 (83) Vettori 8 - 0 - 35 - 0
Runs Scored: 4 de Villiers 8(13)    
29.6 Vettori to du Plessis, no run, slower on leg, softly nudged to short mid-wicket
29.5 Vettori to de Villiers, 1 run, very full on the stumps, driven to long-on
29.4 Vettori to de Villiers, no run, the crowd thought de Villiers had hit it straight back at Vettori. Bump ball as de Villiers advances and drills it back at the bowler
29.3 Vettori to du Plessis, 1 run, du Plessis is on the back foot and wrists it to backward square leg, quick single taken
29.2 Vettori to de Villiers, 1 run, tossed up on the stumps, de Villiers shows the full face of the bat and drives to long-off
29.1 Vettori to du Plessis, 1 run, du Plessis comes down the track and drives to long-off
Rain and Cricket form a pair in New Zealand and Jamie informs that some dark clouds are moving across from the west. Expect a rain delay shortly, as it happened during the SA-PAK match
29 RSA
125/3 		1  1  0  0  1  0   de Villiers 6 (10) Boult 8 - 0 - 41 - 2
Runs Scored: 3 du Plessis 46(80)    
28.6 Boult to de Villiers, no run, de Villiers grimaces as he completely mistimes the on-drive, the ball finds mid-on. de Villiers completes a 360 degree turn in disappointment
28.5 Boult to du Plessis, 1 run, short and on the stumps, du Plessis rolls his wrists to pull it down to deep backward square leg
28.4 Boult to du Plessis, no run, on a good length and outside off, du Plessis dabs to the right of slip who runs to his right and prevents the quick single
Now just a slip and Boult is coming from round the wicket
28.3 Boult to du Plessis, no run, back of a length outside off, du Plessis defends to mid-off, no chance of a run that time
B Mac has given Boult two slips
28.2 Boult to de Villiers, 1 run, short of length outside off, de Villiers punches to the left of cover and sets off
This is the contest that everyone were looking forward to. Could well decide the game, right here, right now
28.1 Boult to du Plessis, 1 run, look at de Villiers run. du Plessis pushed out at that and took his bottom hand off the bat handle while playing that, the ball drops in front of the 2nd slip and de Villiers charges across, makes it with ease
Trent Boult [7.0-0-38-2] is back into the attack
28 RSA
122/3 		2  1  0  1  1  1   du Plessis 44 (76) Vettori 7 - 0 - 31 - 0
Runs Scored: 6 de Villiers 5(8)    
27.6 Vettori to du Plessis, 1 run, du Plessis uses his feet and drives it to long-on
27.5 Vettori to de Villiers, 1 run, de Villiers skips out and pushes it past the bowler
27.4 Vettori to du Plessis, 1 run, slower and on the stumps, du Plessis goes on the back foot and nudges it to deep backward square leg
27.3 Vettori to du Plessis, no run, KW, Vettori are up appealing for a caught behind. B Mac has a chat and decides against the review. Superb delivery from Vettori, slowed it up and it gripped on the surface, turned past the forward poke of du Plessis, there was a sound as the ball passed bat, but need a replay to confirm everything
27.2 Vettori to de Villiers, 1 run, de Villiers gets forward and drives with an open face wide of KW at point
27.1 Vettori to de Villiers, 2 runs, short of length outside off, punched to deep extra cover, du Plessis takes on Southee and comes back. Very quick running
27 RSA
116/3 		Wd  W  0  0  Wd  0  0  1   de Villiers 1 (5) Corey Anderson 1 - 0 - 3 - 1
Runs Scored: 3 du Plessis 42(73)    
26.6 Corey Anderson to de Villiers, 1 run, de Villiers charges Corey Anderson and is able to adjust on that short delivery, forehands it down and controls the pull shot, wide of mid-on for a single
26.5 Corey Anderson to de Villiers, no run, good length outside off, punched wide of mid-off, now B Mac runs and then dives to his right at mid-off to save runs. This is outstanding fielding
Boult is warming up. Expect him to come in from the other end to de Villiers
26.4 Corey Anderson to de Villiers, no run, Gups again at point, makes a sprawling save, de Villiers comes down the track and punches to the right of point and Gups is there
26.4 Corey Anderson to de Villiers, wide, banged way too short and easy call for the umpire. Ronchi had to leap and collect
26.3 Corey Anderson to de Villiers, no run, de Villiers shuffles across and sees the good length delivery outside off, leaves
26.2 Corey Anderson to de Villiers, no run, how did that miss the stumps? Corey Anderson and Ronchi can't believe it. de Villiers early into the pull, one leg up in the air as he went for the shot, off the glove and misses the stumps, falls and goes through to Ronchi. What a moment that would've been
AB de Villiers, right handed bat, comes to the crease
26.1 Corey Anderson to Rossouw, out Caught by Guptill!! What.A.Catchhhhhh! The crowd come to life once again. Caught one-handed and Corey Anderson strikes. The golden arm of the Black Caps has done it again. Short of a length outside off, Rossouw opens the face of the bat and punches, it was flying to the right of point and swerving away from Gups, but he moved and stretched his long right-hand and voila it stuck. That was a screamer - one more added to Gups' ever-increasing collection of astounding catches. Rossouw c Guptill b Corey Anderson 39(53) [4s-2 6s-1]
26.1 Corey Anderson to Rossouw, wide, the Eden Park crowd boo that decision from the square leg umpire. Dug in short and outside off, Rossouw had left it alone
Corey Anderson, left-arm fast medium, comes into the attack
26 RSA
113/2 		1  1  0  1  1  1   Rossouw 39 (52) Vettori 6 - 0 - 25 - 0
Runs Scored: 5 du Plessis 42(73)    
25.6 Vettori to Rossouw, 1 run, flatter and on the stumps, punched to long-on
Now Vettori round the wicket to Rossouw
25.5 Vettori to du Plessis, 1 run, tossed up outside off, driven to sweeper cover
25.4 Vettori to Rossouw, 1 run, down leg, but Rossouw had already pre-meditated the reverse paddle, gets it down to backward point
25.3 Vettori to Rossouw, no run, skids on, to off stump, Rossouw punches and finds short cover
25.2 Vettori to du Plessis, 1 run, round the wicket to du Plessis, du Plessis uses his feet and drives to long-on
25.1 Vettori to Rossouw, 1 run, shortish outside off, flat-batted to long-on, Vettori is bowling from over the wicket to Rossouw now
25 RSA
108/2 		1  0  1  6  1  0   du Plessis 40 (71) Elliott 1 - 0 - 9 - 0
Runs Scored: 9 Rossouw 36(48)    
24.6 Elliott to du Plessis, no run, du Plessis dabs that to point and immediately says 'no' to Rossouw for the quick single
24.5 Elliott to Rossouw, 1 run, slower delivery on off, defended to backward point
24.4 Elliott to Rossouw, SIX, very short boundary straight and that's gone for six. Just a lofted hit from Rossouw, through the line and hit very straight. Clean striking
24.3 Elliott to du Plessis, 1 run, very full on the stumps, punched past the dive of short mid-wicket
24.2 Elliott to du Plessis, no run, Elliott will bowl cutters, du Plessis is hard on the push and finds short mid-wicket
24.1 Elliott to Rossouw, 1 run, back of the hand slower delivery, down leg, pushed into the gap at wide long-on, two was the call, but they settle for a single
Grant Elliott, right-arm fast medium, comes into the attack
24 RSA
99/2 		0  Wd  1  1  1  1  1   Rossouw 28 (45) Vettori 5 - 0 - 20 - 0
Runs Scored: 6 du Plessis 39(68)    
23.6 Vettori to Rossouw, 1 run, 'catch' was the cry from Ronchi. Rossouw early into the drive and just eludes the diving Gups at short cover. He went to his left but couldn't haul it back in. Close shave for Rossouw
23.5 Vettori to du Plessis, 1 run, slower from Vettori, softly nudged to deep backward square leg, for a single
23.4 Vettori to Rossouw, 1 run, on the pads, flicked to deep backward square leg
23.3 Vettori to du Plessis, 1 run, tossed up on middle, du Plessis gets forward and drives to long-on
23.2 Vettori to Rossouw, 1 run, flat-batted wide of mid-off, Anderson runs and dives to his right to save three. Superb effort
23.2 Vettori to Rossouw, wide, fires it down leg, Ronchi does well to stop more runs
23.1 Vettori to Rossouw, no run, bit of extra bounce for Vettori as Rossouw gets forward to defend
Coming back to that loud shout for lbw, all three reds on Hawk-Eye. But the umpire gave it as runs. If New Zealand had reviewed that, du Plessis would've have been gone. There was a loud appeal from KW but he didn't review. Will that prove costly?
23 RSA
93/2 		1  1  1  1  1  0   du Plessis 37 (66) Williamson 1 - 0 - 5 - 0
Runs Scored: 5 Rossouw 25(41)    
22.6 Williamson to du Plessis, no run, du Plessis uses his feet and works it to the right of short mid-wicket
22.5 Williamson to Rossouw, 1 run, tossed up on the stumps, Rossouw gets forward and drives it to long-on
22.4 Williamson to du Plessis, 1 run, comes down the track and takes it on the full, drives it wide of mid-off
22.3 Williamson to Rossouw, 1 run, gets forward and drives to long-on
22.2 Williamson to du Plessis, 1 run, that has been given as runs. Looked like it went straight off the pad, du Plessis missing the flick and looked dead to the naked eye, just that it pitched outside leg. The umpire is quick to turn down the appeal. Replays show that it had pitched in line
Williamson stays around the wicket to du Plessis
22.1 Williamson to Rossouw, 1 run, low full toss from round the wicket, Rossouw gets forward and drives it to long-on
Kane Williamson, right-arm off break, comes into the attack
Apologies for mentioning that Rossouw has come in ahead of AB. Thanks to my ever attentive colleagues who spotted that error. Except for one game in the tournament, AB has never come in at 4, ahead of Rossouw. Totally forgot that AB was batting at 5 in the tournament. My bad!
22 RSA
88/2 		1  0  1  0  1  0   du Plessis 35 (63) Vettori 4 - 0 - 14 - 0
Runs Scored: 3 Rossouw 22(38)    
21.6 Vettori to du Plessis, no run, straightens on middle, du Plessis wants to work it to leg, but defends it softly back down the track
21.5 Vettori to Rossouw, 1 run, now even Vettori is diving. Driven to his right and despite mid-off in, they take a quick single. Well done for it was played wide of the fielder
21.4 Vettori to Rossouw, no run, flatter and Rossouw drives to short cover, straight to the fielder
21.3 Vettori to du Plessis, 1 run, du Plessis is diving to get back and does so, taps it to the right of short mid-wicket and set off. Rossouw responded in kind too
21.2 Vettori to du Plessis, no run, down leg, drifting in too, du Plessis gets an inside edge on the flick, onto the pad and dies down quickly
21.1 Vettori to Rossouw, 1 run, down leg, flicked to deep backward square leg, for a single
21 RSA
85/2 		0  0  4  0  0  4   du Plessis 34 (60) Southee 6 - 1 - 27 - 0
Runs Scored: 8 Rossouw 20(35)    
20.6 Southee to du Plessis, FOUR, the mid-off fielder was taken out and put in at slip after du Plessis had hit a four over the man earlier in the over. B Mac's move has backfired there, Southee went for the yorker, du Plessis advanced and took it on the full, driven past the left-hand of Southee. Easy boundary
20.5 Southee to du Plessis, no run, good length outside off, left alone
Southee and B Mac have a chat. Now three slips and a gully in place
20.4 Southee to du Plessis, no run, on the off stump, turned into the on-side
20.3 Southee to du Plessis, FOUR, down the track and there is no one at long-off. Safe hit that! Good length delivery outside off stump, du Plessis steps out and lofts the drive over the infield and brings up the fifty partnership
20.2 Southee to du Plessis, no run, allows the length ball to come and looks to dab it down to third man, but the fielder at gully intervenes
20.1 Southee to du Plessis, no run, the gentle outswinger goes full and outside off stump, du Plessis drives and picks out the man at short cover
'He [Henry] swings the ball late, has got a quick bouncer and he bowls wicket-taking deliveries,' Peter Fulton, Canterbury's skipper, was quoted as saying by Stuff.co.nz. Interestingly, Henry has a history of being troubled by back problems. In 2012, he even had a major surgery on his lower back. Henry gave a good account of himself as well by keeping the opposition in check. Daniel Vettori, the wily slow left-arm orthodox, was also introduced into the attack. For South Africa, it was Rilee Rossouw, who looked to break the shackles with a fine shot down the ground off Boult. Faf du Plessis played with a calm head on his shoulders.
With Brendon McCullum looking for wickets, Trent Boult was given a lengthy spell. To make it intriguing, Boult bowled with five fielders in the slip cordon. It was Matt Henry, who replaced Tim Southee at the other end. Henry doesn't just hit the bat hard, but can also generate swing with the new ball. It is always good to have a pacer, who hits the bat hard in the shorter forms of the game. He has been bowling with good rhythm too as Henry snared six wickets for Canterbury against Central Districts in Nelson just a few days ago.
20 RSA
77/2 		0  0  1  0  0  0   Rossouw 20 (35) Vettori 3 - 0 - 11 - 0
Runs Scored: 1 du Plessis 26(54)    
19.6 Vettori to Rossouw, no run, on the stumps, defended
19.5 Vettori to Rossouw, no run, goes for the reverse-sweep, but it goes down the leg side and Rossouw fails to make contact
19.4 Vettori to Rossouw, no run, stays round the wicket to the left-hander and delivers a flighted delivery on the off stump, defended nicely by Rossouw
19.3 Vettori to du Plessis, 1 run, flatter delivery just outside off stump, du Plessis stays in the crease and punches it to sweeper cover
19.2 Vettori to du Plessis, no run, steps out but doesn't get to the pitch of the ball, hence defends it to cover
19.1 Vettori to du Plessis, no run, flighted delivery just outside off stump, there was just a little bit of turn for Vettori on that occasion, du Plessis defends with an angled bat and the ball rolls to short third man off the outside half of the bat
19 RSA
76/2 		0  0  1  0  4  0   Rossouw 20 (32) Southee 5 - 1 - 19 - 0
Runs Scored: 5 du Plessis 25(51)    
18.6 Southee to Rossouw, no run, almost a yorker on the off stump, Rossouw digs it out
18.5 Southee to Rossouw, FOUR, inside edge but it's gone past the stumps. Fullish and just outside off stump, Rossouw drives with hardly any feet movement, the ball takes the edge and escapes the stumps. Southee has his hands on his head
18.4 Southee to Rossouw, no run, short of length delivery outside off stump, defended
18.3 Southee to du Plessis, 1 run, fullish and just outside off stump, after a shuffle across the stumps, du Plessis flicks it wide of mid-on, Vettori runs to his right, picks up the ball and has a shy at the bowler's end but misses
18.2 Southee to du Plessis, no run, easily defended off the back foot again
18.1 Southee to du Plessis, no run, walks across the stumps and defends the length ball back to Southee
Tim Southee [4.0-1-14-0] is back into the attack
Didn't have the time to mention about Rossouw's promotion ahead of AB. Now is the time to apologise and mention it. The move has worked well so far. Boult vs AB was the battle everyone were expecting to see. But AB has pulled off a fast one over B Mac. Kept himself back for the late charge and could well prove to be a masterstroke. Will it turn out to be a match-winning one? Only time will tell. But AB has certainly caught New Zealand off-guard by that decision. New Zealand wouldn't have expected that
18 RSA
71/2 		5Wd  0  1  1  0  0  0   Rossouw 16 (29) Vettori 2 - 0 - 10 - 0
Runs Scored: 7 du Plessis 24(48)    
17.6 Vettori to Rossouw, no run, look at B Mac fly, he goes acrobatically to his right at short mid-wicket and stops the clip. Saved a single
17.5 Vettori to Rossouw, no run, Rossouw gets forward and drives to short cover
17.4 Vettori to Rossouw, no run, down leg, glanced straight to the fielder at short fine
17.3 Vettori to du Plessis, 1 run, angling in, tucked to deep square leg, for a single
17.2 Vettori to Rossouw, 1 run, Rossouw gets forward to punch and it runs off a thick outer half, wide of point
17.1 Vettori to Rossouw, no run, defended to short mid-wicket off the back foot
17.1 Vettori to Rossouw, 5 wides, that is poor from Vettori. Slipped it down leg and Ronchi had no chance. Five bonus runs
17 RSA
64/2 		Wd  1  0  0  0  0  1   Rossouw 15 (24) Matt Henry 5 - 2 - 9 - 0
Runs Scored: 3 du Plessis 23(47)    
16.6 Matt Henry to Rossouw, 1 run, short of length outside off, punched to the left of mid-off, quick single taken as du Plessis has to hurry and does so
16.5 Matt Henry to Rossouw, no run, short of length on off, defended to cover, Matt Henry giving nothing away
16.4 Matt Henry to Rossouw, no run, on a good length and on the stumps, Rossouw turns it to mid-on
16.3 Matt Henry to Rossouw, no run, full and outside off, Rossouw's bat face turns and he mistimes the drive to mid-on
16.2 Matt Henry to Rossouw, no run, on a good length and outside off, left alone
16.1 Matt Henry to du Plessis, 1 run, short and on the stumps, du Plessis rolls his wrists and pulls it to deep square leg, played it down
16.1 Matt Henry to du Plessis, wide, short and down leg, wide called
Matt Henry was called in to replace Adam Milne and he leapfrogged Kyle Mills and Mitchell McClenaghan in the playing eleven. Must be nervous times indeed. But he has gone on to bowl 2 maiden overs on a trot. Jamie feels that the reception from the Auckland crowd must have eased him in. Here's more: 'Lovely atmosphere. The crowd chanting Henry's name was quite something. He must have fed off that. What a field to get from McCullum too. Fine spell from the World Cup debutant,' he says.
Drinks are on the field now. That was some 70 minutes or so of action. Phew! The Eden Park is the place to be today. A fitting venue for a World Cup semi-final. Crowd at their raucuous best. Almost rowdy like. In a good and sporting way that is. Wanting their team to win. A dot is cheered loudly, while a boundary is met with pindrop silence. Thrilling stuff
16 RSA
61/2 		0  1  0  1  0  1   du Plessis 22 (46) Vettori 1 - 0 - 3 - 0
Runs Scored: 3 Rossouw 14(19)    
15.6 Vettori to du Plessis, 1 run, this drifts into du Plessis, who turns it to deep backward square leg for a single
15.5 Vettori to du Plessis, no run, Gups at short mid-wicket, gets across quickly and parries the hard drive from du Plessis back to Vettori, just flicked it on the half-volley back to the bowler, saving the single
15.4 Vettori to Rossouw, 1 run, tossed up from Vettori, Rossouw gets forward and dabs it square of the wicket, for a single
15.3 Vettori to Rossouw, no run, down leg, glanced to short fine
Short cover and short mid-wicket catching for Rossouw
15.2 Vettori to du Plessis, 1 run, flatter on the stumps, tucked to deep backward square leg, for a single
No-one catching behind the wicket for Vettori
15.1 Vettori to du Plessis, no run, shortish, but extra bounce outside off, du Plessis goes for the cut and is beaten
Daniel Vettori, left-arm orthodox, comes into the attack
15 RSA
58/2 		1  0  1  1  0  0   Rossouw 13 (17) Matt Henry 4 - 2 - 6 - 0
Runs Scored: 3 du Plessis 20(42)    
14.6 Matt Henry to Rossouw, no run, pitched up outside off, Rossouw's bat face closes early and that results in no timing, straight to the fielder at mid-off this time
14.5 Matt Henry to Rossouw, no run, Rossouw goes for a big drive down the ground and the bat turns in the hand, mid-on dives to his left and saves a few runs
14.4 Matt Henry to du Plessis, 1 run, pitched up outside off, du Plessis goes for a big drive and the inside edge runs away to deep backward square leg, for a single. Missed the stumps
Now a very silly straight mid-on in place for du Plessis. B Mac doing all sorts of things
14.3 Matt Henry to Rossouw, 1 run, back of a length outside off, Rossouw unfurls a solid punch square of the wicket, for a single
14.2 Matt Henry to Rossouw, no run, tight delivery on the stumps, defended to mid-off
Three slips and a gully in place. Mid-off is the only man in the ring on the off-side
14.1 Matt Henry to du Plessis, 1 run, full and on the pads, clipped to deep square leg, for a single
14 RSA
55/2 		3  3  4  1  0  1   du Plessis 18 (40) Boult 7 - 0 - 38 - 2
Runs Scored: 12 Rossouw 12(13)    
13.6 Boult to du Plessis, 1 run, back of a length outside off, punched square of the wicket, the fielder chases from cover and du Plessis is happy with just a single
13.5 Boult to du Plessis, no run, angling in, du Plessis shuffles across and clips, but finds square leg
This has been an expensive over from Boult so far. He is going round the wicket to du Plessis
13.4 Boult to Rossouw, 1 run, dug in short, Rossouw pulls to deep backward square leg
13.3 Boult to Rossouw, FOUR, too full from Boult and that's a perfect on-drive from Rossouw. Shows the full face of the bat and leaves mid-on on his knees. Driven to the long-on fence. Timing, class and all that jazz
13.2 Boult to du Plessis, 3 runs, and again Dan is the man running after it. Short-arm pulled wide of him at mid-on and Eden Park egg him on as he chases. Dan has an easier job on that occasion and pulls it back well inside the rope. Still another three
13.1 Boult to Rossouw, 3 runs, shortish on the stumps, Rossouw short-arm pulls through mid-wicket. 'Go Dan' says Graeme Smith on air as Daniel Vettori sprints and pulls it back with a slide, saves a run for his side. Terrific committment shown by Dan
13 RSA
43/2 		0  0  0  0  0  0   du Plessis 14 (37) Matt Henry 3 - 2 - 3 - 0
Runs Scored: 0 Rossouw 4(10)    
12.6 Matt Henry to du Plessis, no run, that kept low and du Plessis did well to bring his bat down on it, defends it to mid-on. That's a maiden from Matt Henry, second consecutive one from him
12.5 Matt Henry to du Plessis, no run, full and on the stumps, du Plessis gets forward and gets a soft leading edge on the flick, Matt Henry half-stops and the ball deflects to mid-off. du Plessis decides against the single
12.4 Matt Henry to du Plessis, no run, short of length outside off, punched back to mid-off who fields
12.3 Matt Henry to du Plessis, no run, lovely shape on that outswinger, but du Plessis had it covered and shoulders arms
12.2 Matt Henry to du Plessis, no run, pitched up outside off, du Plessis gets forward and defends solidly
12.1 Matt Henry to du Plessis, no run, outswinger, outside off, left alone
Jamie chirps in to say that the sun is out. The South African batsmen will surely welcome the warmer conditions.
12 RSA
43/2 		0  0  0  0  3  1   du Plessis 14 (31) Boult 6 - 0 - 26 - 2
Runs Scored: 4 Rossouw 4(10)    
11.6 Boult to du Plessis, 1 run, short of length on the hips, tucked to deep backward square leg, for a single
11.5 Boult to Rossouw, 3 runs, this is manic cricket. Inswinging yorker from Boult, dug out hard onto the pitch by Rossouw, it bounces over Boult and B Mac sprints and dives head-first to pull it back. Vettori backs up and nearly catches Rossouw short, with a throw that had the batsman diving to make it back. The throw misses and they take three. What action
11.4 Boult to Rossouw, no run, wide of the crease and Rossouw finds Elliott at short cover-point. Boult applauds the effort by clapping. It was driven to the right of the fielder who stops it with one hand. KW, Guptill came up to Elliott to pat him too
11.3 Boult to Rossouw, no run, on a good length and outside off, Rossouw's bat comes down in a straight line as he punches it back to Boult
11.2 Boult to Rossouw, no run, full and on the stumps, again Rossouw finds mid-on
Four slips and a gully. Exceptional attacking captaincy from B Mac
11.1 Boult to Rossouw, no run, good length on the stumps, pushed off the front foot to mid-on
11 RSA
39/2 		0  0  0  0  0  0   du Plessis 13 (30) Matt Henry 2 - 1 - 3 - 0
Runs Scored: 0 Rossouw 1(5)    
10.6 Matt Henry to du Plessis, no run, beaten now. du Plessis has been good in leaving the outswingers, he is sucked in that time and the late swing beats him. du Plessis went for the drive and missed
10.5 Matt Henry to du Plessis, no run, Elliott is all smiles. Ian Gould is all theatrics as he is a bit slow to move away from the line of that throw. Elliott dived full length to his left at mid-on and stopped a fierce drive, got up and unleashed a back-hander that missed the stumps. Saw Rossouw out of his crease and threw, but Rossouw was back by the time the throw came
10.4 Matt Henry to du Plessis, no run, now swing for Matt Henry, outswinger, nice carry to Ronchi after du Plessis lets it go
10.3 Matt Henry to du Plessis, no run, Matt Henry has his hands on his head. But it was well played by du Plessis, on a good length and outside off, doesn't nip back, du Plessis has the bat tucked in, close to his pad and lets it go
10.2 Matt Henry to du Plessis, no run, back of a length outside off, pushed to cover
10.1 Matt Henry to du Plessis, no run, that bounced a bit. du Plessis was pushing forward to defend, was surprised by that and adjusted well. Takes his bottom hand off and jerks his head back
Boult's effort paid rich dividends as Amla edged one onto the stumps. Boult looks for wickets by pitching the ball up with the new ball and Brendon McCullum backs him up with aggressive fields. On the other hand, when in good form, Amla with those magical wrists is able to bisect the minutest of gaps in the field. However, when up against a left-armer bowling from over the wicket, it is risky to drive on the up as the ball may carry on with the angle. Boult continued to bowl with good control and was rewarded with the wicket of de Kock. de Kock has a habit of using his feet to the pacers, but this time around, lost his wicket.
With a heightened anticipation, fans made a beeline for entry into the Eden Park stadium for the mouth-watering semi-final clash between South Africa and New Zealand. The New Zealand swing duo of Trent Boult and Tim Southee started on a good note. Boult swung the ball prodigiously and produced the edge off Quinton de Kock's bat, but Luke Ronchi dropped the catch behind the stumps. Southee, who has a fine surprise bouncer up his sleeve, then induced a top-edge from Hashim Amla as he looked to hook him. Fortunately for Amla he survived.
10 RSA
39/2 		0  0  0  4  0  1   du Plessis 13 (24) Boult 5 - 0 - 22 - 2
Runs Scored: 5 Rossouw 1(5)    
9.6 Boult to du Plessis, 1 run, looked like the slower delivery, outside off, du Plessis softly pushes it into the vacant point region
Back over the wicket for the last delivery. Two short covers catching
9.5 Boult to du Plessis, no run, very full and wide outside off, du Plessis gets forward to drive and mistimes it to mid-off
9.4 Boult to du Plessis, FOUR, edged and wide of the two slips in place. Room was there, short of length outside off, du Plessis opens the face of the bat to play that. Beats Southee's dive at third man
9.3 Boult to du Plessis, no run, back of a length outside off, du Plessis defends to the left of short cover, has the hand up and shouts 'no' to Rossouw
Round the wicket now
9.2 Boult to du Plessis, no run, full and on middle, du Plessis presents the full face of the bat and defends back to Boult
9.1 Boult to du Plessis, no run, short of length outside off, extra bounce for Boult, du Plessis drops it near point, the bottom hand came off the bat handle, but the fielders charged in from everywhere to stop the quick single being taken
9 RSA
34/2 		1  1  1  0  0  0   Rossouw 1 (5) Matt Henry 1 - 0 - 3 - 0
Runs Scored: 3 du Plessis 8(18)    
8.6 Matt Henry to Rossouw, no run, pitched up outside off, was there for the big booming drive, but Rossouw finds mid-off. Sprawling stop made and once again Eden Park roar
8.5 Matt Henry to Rossouw, no run, late swing for Matt Henry, Rossouw did well not to play across the line and defends it to mid-on
8.4 Matt Henry to Rossouw, no run, full and on the stumps, driven back to Matt Henry
8.3 Matt Henry to du Plessis, 1 run, du Plessis for sure is nervy. He pushes this to mid-on and sets off. Doesn't realise that this is Eden Park and he has played that too well, has to dive and gets there as Elliott shoots sideways and misses. Would've been interesting had there been a direct hit
The reaction of the Eden Park crowd said it all after de Kock was out. They were up on their feet, roaring and fist-pumping. One man was seen pumping his fist so vigorously. Raw passion on display
8.2 Matt Henry to Rossouw, 1 run, back of a length outside off, Rossouw hops and punches it to the left of point. Quick single taken
8.1 Matt Henry to du Plessis, 1 run, short of length and easy for du Plessis who whips it to square leg for a single
Matt Henry, right-arm fast medium, comes into the attack
8 RSA
31/2 		0  0  1  0  W  0   Rossouw 0 (1) Boult 4 - 0 - 17 - 2
Runs Scored: 1 du Plessis 6(16)    
7.6 Boult to Rossouw, no run, how do you play that? First up! Play that if you can Rossouw. All the slip fielders who are 5 in the cordon come up to the bowler and pat him on the back. Boult sticks his tongue out. This was on a good length and it holds its line, Rossouw actually did well to play inside the line and the ball missed the outside edge. Since Rossouw played inside the line, he survived
Rilee Rossouw, left handed bat, comes to the crease
7.5 Boult to de Kock, out Caught by Southee!! Boult is now the highest wicket-taker for New Zealand in World Cups. He has 21 to his name. de Kock is dragging himself off Eden Park. He doesn't want to leave. That was a poor stroke. Charged Boult, wanted to go over cover, but the late swing took the outside edge and landed safely in third man's hands. Southee didn't have to move an inch. Boult is all smiles as he is surrounded by his mates. de Kock c Southee b Boult 14(17) [4s-2]
7.4 Boult to de Kock, no run, short of length outside off, de Kock gets forward and pushes it softly to cover
7.3 Boult to du Plessis, 1 run, back of a length outside off, du Plessis opens the face of the bat and dabs it wide of the second slip, Anderson can't prevent the single being taken
7.2 Boult to du Plessis, no run, short of length on the hips, whipped to the left of square leg where Elliott gets across quickly
7.1 Boult to du Plessis, no run, good length and inswinging, du Plessis inside-edges the forward defensive onto the pads, the ball rolls to cover
7 RSA
30/1 		0  Wd  0  1  0  0  1   du Plessis 5 (13) Southee 4 - 1 - 14 - 0
Runs Scored: 3 de Kock 14(15)    
6.6 Southee to du Plessis, 1 run, angling in, on a back of a length on off and middle, du Plessis tucks it to the right of the vacant mid-wicket fielder, single taken
6.5 Southee to du Plessis, no run, pitched up outside off, du Plessis gets forward and drives it back to Southee who mocks a throw at the batsman
du Plessis goes up to de Kock and has a chat. Shane Warne on air thinks du Plessis is very nervous
6.4 Southee to du Plessis, no run, short of length outside off, du Plessis pushes out away from his body, finds cover
6.3 Southee to de Kock, 1 run, de Kock played that well, short outside off, de Kock rolled his wrists and kept it down to deep square leg. Was aware of the fielder there and wanted not to find the fielder
6.2 Southee to de Kock, no run, full and inswing for Southee, late too, de Kock's bat turns and his clip can only find mid-wicket
6.2 Southee to de Kock, wide, double-bluff that. But Southee in attempting the yorker gets it wrong, the inswinger goes wrong, down leg
McCullum is so pro-active as captain. He is changing the field constantly. Three slips and a man now on the hook at deep square
6.1 Southee to de Kock, no run, short of length on off, de Kock wants to force that hard off the back foot but finds mid-wicket, as the inside half of the bat is found
6 RSA
27/1 		0  1  0  0  0  0   du Plessis 4 (10) Boult 3 - 0 - 16 - 1
Runs Scored: 1 de Kock 13(12)    
5.6 Boult to du Plessis, no run, angles it in, but this one is still not enough to make du Plessis play. Another testing over from Boult comes to an end
Boult has decided to come round the wicket for the last delivery
5.5 Boult to du Plessis, no run, pitched up outside off, du Plessis thought about the drive, crouched low to play and then decided against it as it was too far wide of off
5.4 Boult to du Plessis, no run, on the middle and leg line, du Plessis tucks it straight to the fielder at square leg
5.3 Boult to du Plessis, no run, very full and wide of off, du Plessis leaves once more
5.2 Boult to de Kock, 1 run, short of length outside off, no swing that time, de Kock tucks it through mid-wicket for a single
5.1 Boult to de Kock, no run, short of length and nips back in, de Kock wants to whip that to leg, but inside-edges it onot the thigh pad, the ball rolls to the slip cordon
Jamie says that there' some nip in the air for both bowlers. More for Boult than Southee. It's a sell-out at Auckland but the stadium isn't a full-house at the moment
5 RSA
26/1 		0  1  0  0  0  0   du Plessis 4 (6) Southee 3 - 1 - 11 - 0
Runs Scored: 1 de Kock 12(10)    
4.6 Southee to du Plessis, no run, another outswinger, but this one is on a short of length outside off, easy for du Plessis as he lets it go
4.5 Southee to du Plessis, no run, further wide of off, swing away for Southee, du Plessis won't play at that and shoulders arms
4.4 Southee to du Plessis, no run, short of length outside off, du Plessis gets right back and defends it to the bowler
4.3 Southee to du Plessis, no run, pitched up outside off, outswinger, du Plessis lifts his bat high over his head and lets it go
4.2 Southee to de Kock, 1 run, too straight from Southee, allowing de Kock to glance it down to fine leg, for a single
4.1 Southee to de Kock, no run, short of length on middle, de Kock tucks it to mid-wicket, calmly played
4 RSA
25/1 		0  1  0  W  0  4   du Plessis 4 (2) Boult 2 - 0 - 15 - 1
Runs Scored: 5 de Kock 11(8)    
3.6 Boult to du Plessis, FOUR, superbly played by du Plessis. It was the attempted yorker from Boult and he almost got it right out, but du Plessis flicked that past backward square leg, just the uncorking of the wrists at the right moment and the ball raced away
3.5 Boult to du Plessis, no run, pushed across du Plessis on the left-armer's angle from over the wicket, du Plessis gets forward and shoulders arms
Faf du Plessis, right handed bat, comes to the crease
3.4 Boult to Amla, out Bowled!! Look at the Eden Park faithful roar. Boult is all smiles. He has knocked Amla over, albeit off an inside edge. It was full and wide outside off, was there for the drive, but Amla had been nervy all innings, the feet didn't move on the drive and the inside edge clattered back onto the stumps. Did the ball swing back in a bit? No. It went across with the angle. Amla b Boult 10(14) [4s-2]
Phew just 21 balls into the innings and so much action. My fingers will go if this continues for the entire match
3.3 Boult to Amla, no run, dug in short, Amla ducks under that
3.2 Boult to de Kock, 1 run, too straight from Boult, de Kock flicks that to deep square leg, gets away to the other end
Three slips and a gully in. Deep square in place
3.1 Boult to de Kock, no run, Boult beats de Kock outside off, with a short of length delivery outside off, it pitched outside off and went away, de Kock was pushing out and did well not to go hard at that
3 RSA
20/0 		0  2  0  0  4  4   Amla 10 (12) Southee 2 - 1 - 10 - 0
Runs Scored: 10 de Kock 10(6)    
2.6 Southee to Amla, FOUR, and now on the pads, Amla won't miss out. Flicked wide of mid-wicket. Cleanly struck and that spoils the over
2.5 Southee to Amla, FOUR, poor bowling. Southee loses his patience, drifts a half-volley outside leg, all it needed was bat and Amla flicked it away to the fine leg fence. Too easy
2.4 Southee to Amla, no run, edged and doesn't carry to 2nd slip. All action in this over and in this game as well. Amla late in withdrawing the bat from that back of a length delivery outside off, the edge is found, but short of the slip cordon
2.3 Southee to Amla, no run, outswinger, left alone
2.2 Southee to Amla, 2 runs, in the air and just wide of the running and diving long leg fielder. The luck is with South Africa at the moment. Top-edged hook from Amla, he was not in control of the shot at all. Southee followed the path of the ball as long leg (Boult) ran to his left, but the fielder, despite diving full length didn't get even a finger on it
2.1 Southee to Amla, no run, short of length outside off, defended comfortably off the back foot towards mid-off
2 RSA
10/0 		0  4  0  2  4  0   de Kock 10 (6) Boult 1 - 0 - 10 - 0
Runs Scored: 10 Amla 0(6)    
1.6 Boult to de Kock, no run, full on the stumps, de Kock gets his front foot across and plays around it. Flicked to mid-wicket. Dangerous that from de Kock. Excellent over from Boult
1.5 Boult to de Kock, FOUR, dropped by Ronchi! Big moment. Brilliant delivery from Boult, full and late swing, on off, de Kock made the mistake of playing to leg, closed the bat face and the outside edge went to the left of the diving Ronchi, it was right in between Ronchi and first slip. Credit to Ronchi for going for it, went full length but could only palm it away to the third man fence. The left mitt got there, but only the edge of the mitt. Not the middle. de Kock gets away
1.4 Boult to de Kock, 2 runs, half-volley outside off, Boult searching for swing and de Kock opens the face of the bat to drive wide of point, only a couple
1.3 Boult to de Kock, no run, outswinger, but on a fuller length and outside off, de Kock sees it well and leaves
1.2 Boult to de Kock, FOUR, edged and just wide of the third slip diving to his left. Boult brought de Kock forward and the defensive stroke found the edge, but it eluded the diving fielder's outstretched left-hand
1.1 Boult to de Kock, no run, what a delivery first up! Short of a length and outside off, late movement away, de Kock spars at it and is lucky not to edge it. Very minimal footwork from de Kock as he didn't go across to play it
False start for Boult. He runs in and just as he was about to deliver the ball, the ball popped out after hitting the thigh. Boult manages a smile on the way back. He has to start all over again
Trent Boult, left-arm fast medium, comes into the attack
1 RSA
0/0 		0  0  0  0  0  0   Amla 0 (6) Southee 1 - 1 - 0 - 0
Runs Scored: 0 de Kock 0(0)    
0.6 Southee to Amla, no run, a huge roar from the Eden Park faithful after Southee finishes with a maiden over. Amla gets back and across, before punching to point. That was a very good opening over from Southee
0.5 Southee to Amla, no run, Amla shuffles across to defend and presents the full face to play it to mid-on. Southee has a wry smile on his face as Amla had lost his balance while playing that, stumbled forward awkwardly and did well to get the bat in front of the pad, although the bat came at an angle around the front pad
0.4 Southee to Amla, no run, KW at point dives to his right and saves some runs. He gets a pat on his back from another fielder after that was stopped. It was on a fuller length outside off and Amla drove well, looked like a boundary until KW went across
0.3 Southee to Amla, no run, and another delivery that swung, but only after the ball passed the batsman, close to a wide as it was well outside off, but the umpire reckons that it was fine
0.2 Southee to Amla, no run, there is the first indication of swing for Southee, bowls it on a good length and it's an outswinger, Amla shoulders arms watchfully
It will be interesting to see how much swing Southee and Boult get on this. They will swing, but how much?
0.1 Southee to Amla, no run, short of length outside off, Amla gets back and across, is on the hop, but drops it to cover. Played that awkwardly, signs of nerves?
Amla and de Kock are at the crease. Amla is on strike. Southee will open the attack
For more interesting updates wa click and follow Indiaherald WhatsApp channel

Find out more:

New Zealand vs South Africa Ball By Ball Live Upda New Zealand vs South Africa New Zealand vs South Africa live New Zealand vs South Africa World Cup Live Score New Zealand vs South Africa Live Match New Zealand vs South Africa Live Match In Melbourn New Zealand vs South Africa live cricket New Zealand vs South Africa 1st Semi-Final lIVE

Dr. Kotii Reddy Saripalli

24/03/2015 06:42 AM