SA vs AUS, World Cup semi-final: Australia broke South Africa’s back in the first 10 overs, says Faf du Plessis

South Africa bowed out of the World Cup 2023, losing the semi-final clash to Australia at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. On 16 November, the clash between the two sides turned out to be a low-scoring thriller with Australia chasing a modest target of 213 runs in 47.2 overs.

SA vs AUS, 2nd semi-final: Scorecard | Highlights

South Africa’s debacle came in the first innings of the match, where captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and opted to bat. The decision turned out to be a disastrous one for South Africa, where they lost four wickets in the first 12 overs for just 24 runs. Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis pointed out to the same and said that no one expected the ball to swing and seam on a dry Eden track.

“You have to look at the conditions in the first hour, very gloomy and overcast, so I think everyone expected the pitch to play really good, and it was such a dry surface. A lot of us were surprised with the amount of swing that was there in the first hour of play in the air and of the pitch. That made it a very tricky pitch at the start, but you have to give credit to the Australia fast bowlers,” Faf du Plessis said on Star Sports after the semi-final clash.

“Australia made it look almost like Test cricket, they did not miss a beat and really broke the back of South African side,” he further added.

Du Plessis felt that South Africa played catch up throughout the game and credited Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller for their grinding knocks in the tricky pitch.

“Credit to Klaasen and Miller to get us back into the game, but they were probably 20 runs short on a pitch like that,” du Plessis concluded.

Australia will now play India on November 17 in Ahmedabad.