New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori lauds all-round performance by team after 49-run victory over South Africa in quarter-final
New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori lauds all-round performance by team after 49-run victory over South Africa in quarter-final
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| Daniel Vettori |
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori praised his team's spirit in the field especially when they had to defend a modest total.
"Every single bowler stepped up today, and probably it was the fielding that got us through," said Vettori. "Once we got 220, we knew we had to be aggressive. We were hanging in there. We knew it was a tricky wicket and it was going to be an old-school one-day game."
Jacob Oram was New Zealand's man of the match with four wickets and two catches, while off-spinner Nathan McCullum sealed the Proteas' fate with three for 24 from 10 overs. Skipper Graeme Smith (28) and Jacques Kallis (47) put on 61 as South Africa moved to 108-2 by the 24th over, before the last eight wickets crashed for 64 runs.
New Zealand cricketers celebrate after beating South Africa in the
quarter-final of the World Cup at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in
Dhaka yesterday. New Zealand won by 49 runs. Pic/AFP
New Zealand will await the winners of Saturday's match between Sri Lanka and England in Colombo while South Africa, often regarded as the best team never to have won the World Cup, were once again left to lick their wounds. Their World Cup record is now three semi-final defeats, two losses in the quarter-finals and once in the first round.
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