VIDEO: Sri Lanka vs South Africa quarter-final full match highlights
JP Duminy and Quinton de Kock‘s performances helped South Africa set up a crushing nine-wicket ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 quarter-final win over Sri Lanka in Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Wednesday. READ: South Africa thrash Sri Lanka by 9 wickets, enter semi-final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Sri Lanka, who won the toss, were bowled out for just 133 on a good SCG pitch. After South Africa’s pacemen reduced Sri Lanka to four for two, leg-spinner Imran Tahir (four for 26 in 8.2 overs) and off-spinner Duminy (three for 29 in seven) made sure the Islanders’ innings never got out of first gear. South Africa, so often labelled World Cup ‘chokers’, completed an emphatic win by finishing on 134 for one with 32 overs to spare. Full scorecard: Sri Lanka vs South Africa, ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Quarter-Final 1
De Kock, who had managed just 53 runs in six previous innings this World Cup, was 78 not out after hitting the winning boundary — his 12th four — off paceman Lasith Malinga. Faf du Plessis was unbeaten on 21. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage
Victory meant the Proteas had, after several heartbreaking reverses that started at the SCG with a rain-affected semi-final loss to England in 1992, finally won a knockout match at the World Cup. They will face the winners of Saturday’s match between New Zealand and the West Indies in an Auckland semi-final on March 24.