‘Australia made it look like Test cricket’ – Former South African captain opens up on Australia qualifying for finals in ODI World Cup 2023

Former South African captain Faf du Plessis recently analyzed South Africa’s performance against Australia in the second semi-final of the ODI World Cup 2023 which was held at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 16 November. Faf appreciated Australia for their consistent efforts in the game. 

Australia dismissed the attacking batting lineup of South Africa for only 212 runs before the end of 50 overs. Australia versus target with three wickets remaining and qualified for the finals of the tournament and will meet India once again for the final of ODI World Cup 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on 19 November. 

Faf du Plessis talked about the pitch conditions and the swing that the Australian bowlers got in the first innings and said, “You have to look at the conditions in the first hour, very gloomy and overcast, so I think everyone expected the pitch to play well, 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 on the pitch. That made it a very tricky pitch at the start, but you have to give credit to the Australia fast bowlers.” 

“Australia made it look almost like Test cricket, they did not miss a beat and broke the back of the South African side. Credit to Klaasen and Miller to get us back into the game, but they were probably 20 runs short on a pitch like that,” added Faf. 

Temba Bavuma on elimination from the ODI World Cup 2023

In the post-match ceremony after the loss, Temba Bavuma said, “Cannot put it into words, first of all, congratulations to Australia. Good luck to them in the final. They played really well today. Our character came through today. We showed a lot of resilience. The way we started with the bat and the ball was the telling point, that’s where we lost the game. The conditions combined with the quality of their attack, they really put us under pressure.”

“You’re always going to struggle to put up a competitive total when you’re 24/4. We were gaining some momentum when Miller and Klaasen were out there but unfortunately, he (Klaasen) couldn’t carry on a bit longer. Miller’s innings were superb, really highlights the character of the entire team, it was extraordinary to do that in such a pressure situation and a World Cup semi-final”, he added.