"It was a pretty tough watch, pretty nervy at times, Santner said. I had a few other boys in my room and I had to leave because it was pretty tough. At every stage you just want to get through to the next stage and now it's the semi-finals, it's one game and you can potentially move on."
"I wish cricket was that easy, said Aiden Markram, the South Africa captain and the highest-scoring batter remaining in the competition. Both teams have played a lot of cricket since then and it's a completely fresh start. I don't think it's as straightforward as being able to repeat that again."
New Zealand's players and staff anxiously monitored Pakistan's match against Sri Lanka from various locations in Colombo, hoping for a result that would eliminate them from the World Cup. Pakistan won but not by the margin needed, allowing New Zealand to progress to the semi-finals. The Pakistan Cricket Board subsequently fined each player approximately 13,500 rupees for their underperformance. New Zealand now faces South Africa in Kolkata on Wednesday in a semi-final match. South Africa remains unbeaten in the tournament with six victories, including a dominant group-stage win over New Zealand. However, South Africa's captain Aiden Markram emphasizes that the earlier result does not guarantee success, noting that both teams have evolved significantly since their first encounter.
#world-cup-semi-finals #new-zealand-cricket #south-africa-cricket #pakistan-cricket-board #tournament-progression
Read at www.theguardian.com
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