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Australia prevail in low-scoring game to reach eighth World Cup final
Australia made it to their eighth World Cup final with a hard-earned three-wicket win over South Africa in tricky conditions at the Eden Gardens. Pat Cummins’ side will now take on hosts India in the title clash in Ahmedabad on Sunday. For Temba Bavuma and Co. though, it was again a case of being so near yet so far in a semi-final, the fifth in five attempts that South Africa failed to get past.
David Miller’s sixth ODI hundred took Temba Bavuma’s side to 212 after opting to bat, but defending a below-par total was always going to be a challenge. Australia’s blazing start saw them gnaw away 60 runs out of the target in the first six overs, and it meant that the slowdown and collapse against spin in the middle overs counted for little. The mature hands of captain Cummins and Mitchell Starc then nudged and nurdled 22 quiet runs towards the end to get Australia over the line.
Perhaps the difference between the sides was in how they batted in the first PowerPlay. While South Africa took 53 balls to hit their first boundary, Australia took only two balls to hit their first boundary. And it came off the bat of Travis Head, the Player of the Match, who finished with 62 off 48, an innings that arguably closed the chase long before it was done. That from Head after he picked the crucial wickets of Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen in the space of two balls.
The only time South Africa looked in the game was when their spinners were bowling. Aiden Markram struck with the first ball of spin that Temba Bavuma turned to, knocking over David Warner with a hint of spin. Keshav Maharaj, who was held back until the 15th over and was the last bowler into the attack, also struck with his first delivery which saw the back of hard-hitting Head.
The quiet overs that Tabraiz Shamsi and Maharaj stitched together after Head’s dismissal ultimately led to the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne, who missed an ill-advised reverse-sweep against the legspinner and was hit in front. Shamsi then went on to add the wicket of Glenn Maxwell, leaving Australia at 137/5.
It was always about bowling out Australia but the half-chances didn’t stick for South Africa. Quinton de Kock failed to hold onto a couple of tough ones behind the stumps but the dropped catch of Head by Reeza Henrdicks on 40 is what South Africa will look back on and rue. Gerald Coetzee, the bowler on that occasion, would come back and pick Steve Smith and Josh Inglis but having modest runs on the board hampered South Africa all along. But that they had as many as they did, especially from 24 for 4 was down to Miller’s extraordinary innings.
Batting under overcast skies was something even Pat Cummins admitted wanting to do, but it took only a few overs from Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood to hammer home the point that batting wasn’t going to be easy against the new ball. Bavuma lasted all of five deliveries at the crease, edging behind a delivery from Starc on nought but it was Hazlewood at the other end who proved to be more of a menace.
Hazlewood’s first spell read 6-1-12-2, the two wickets being that of de Kock (caught at mid-on after a string of dot balls) and Rassie van der Dussen (edged to second slip). Starc wasn’t too far behind at the other end, bowling seven overs on the trot and picking 2 for 18 in his first spell. Markram was the other batter Starc accounted for with an edge to backward point.
So tight were the lines and lengths from the new-ball bowlers, and so good Australia’s ground fielding, that South Africa huffed and puffed to 18/2 at the end of 10 overs. In comparison, Australia were racing at 74/2 at a similar point in time in their chase.
The 95-run association between Miller and Heinrich Klaasen helped, both of whom laying into inconsistent lengths from Adam Zampa on the other side of a 45-minute rain break. Six of the eight sixes hit in the innings were off Zampa’s bowling, with both the batters hitting two each.
Just when SA looked a bit steady after having added 44 runs between overs 21 and 30, Travis Head struck gold in his first over and returned two wickets off two balls. Bowling slow and accurate, Head beat Klaasen for length and bowled him by skidding one past his outside edge. Next ball, Marco Jansen was pinned in front by one that spun in from a long way outside off. That’s how difficult and fickle the conditions were in Kolkata.
There was another 53-run rearguard between Miller and Gerald Coetzee for the seventh wicket, with Miller doing most of the scoring in that partnership. It could have gone on for longer had Coetzee reviewed the decision for caught-behind; the short ball wasn’t top-edged as the on-field umpire thought but deflected off his arm behind to the keeper.
Miller got to his hundred off 115 balls, hitting 8 fours and 5 sixes en route to a memorable innings in a World Cup knockout but he would rue not batting until the end of 50 overs. Two balls after reaching the milestone, Miller fell while trying to pull one of the many short balls that Pat Cummins bowled from round the wicket.
Brief Scores:
South Africa 213 in 49.4 overs (Miller 101; Starc 3-34, Cummins 3-51, Halewood 2-12) lost to Australia 215/7 in 47.2 overs (Head 62; Shamsi 2-42) by 3 wickets
Accepting deposits from political parties and independent groups who intend to contest the forthcoming Local Authorities Election ended at 12noon today [19].
Deposits were accepted at respective District Secretariats from 3rd March 2025.
The Elections Commission has announced that the deadline for the accepting of nominations for the LA poll is set to conclude at 12:00 noon tomorrow (20).
President Vladimir Putin has rejected an immediate and full ceasefire in Ukraine, agreeing only to halt attacks on energy infrastructure, following a call with US President Donald Trump.
The Russian leader declined to sign up to the comprehensive month-long ceasefire that Trump’s team recently worked out with Ukrainians in Saudi Arabia.
He said a comprehensive truce could only work if foreign military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine came to an end. Ukraine’s European allies have previously rejected such conditions.
US talks on Ukraine are due to continue on Sunday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the US envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said.
In the grinding three-year war, Russia has recently been taking back territory in its Kursk region that was occupied by a Ukrainian incursion six months ago.
The results of Tuesday’s Trump-Putin call amount to a retreat in the US position from where it stood a week ago, although the two leaders did agree that further peace talks would take place immediately in the Middle East.
When a US delegation met Ukrainian counterparts in Jeddah last Tuesday, they convinced Kyiv to agree to their proposal for an “immediate” 30-day ceasefire, across land, air and sea.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who arrived in Helsinki, Finland, for an official visit on Tuesday shortly after Trump and Putin’s call ended, said Ukraine was open to the idea of a truce covering energy infrastructure, but wanted more details first.
He later accused Putin of rejecting a ceasefire following a barrage of Russian drone attacks.
Among the places targeted was a hospital in Sumy, and power supplies in Slovyansk, said Ukraine’s leader. “Unfortunately, there have been hits, specifically on civilian infrastructure,” Zelensky said on X. “Today, Putin effectively rejected the proposal for a full ceasefire.”
Trump posted earlier on social media that his call with the Russian leader was “very good and productive” and that “many elements of a Contract for Peace were discussed”.
“We agreed to an immediate Ceasefire on all Energy and Infrastructure, with an understanding that we will be working quickly to have a Complete Ceasefire and, ultimately, an END to this very horrible War between Russia and Ukraine,” the US president said on Truth Social.
About 80% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been destroyed by Russian bombs, Zelensky said last September.
Kyiv has in turn conducted drone and missile strikes deep into Russian territory, on oil and gas facilities.
Just hours after Putin agreed to stop attacking energy infrastructure, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of launching air attacks.
Zelensky said that Russia launched more than 40 drones against Ukraine in the hours following the call between Trump and Putin.
Meanwhile, officials in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar said that a Ukrainian drone attack sparked a small fire at an oil depot.
In Belgorod, a Russian region on the border with Ukraine, the governor said the situation “remains difficult”. Moscow said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces attempted a ground assault on Belgorod but were pushed back.
Following last week’s talks in Jeddah, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said “the ball” was in Russia’s court, after the Ukrainians accepted Washington’s proposal for a full ceasefire.
But the White House’s statement following the Trump-Putin call on Tuesday made no reference to that agreement with Kyiv.
It instead said the two leaders agreed that “the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire”, followed by negotiations over a “maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace”.
But the Kremlin’s own statement on the call noted what it said were a “series of significant issues” around enforcing any agreement with Kyiv. And it said the end of foreign support and intelligence for Ukraine was a “key condition” for Russia.
Trump and Putin agreed to immediate technical-level talks towards a longer-term settlement, which the Kremlin said must be “complex, stable and long-term in nature”.
But it’s unclear if this means further negotiations between the US and Russia, or bilateral talks between Russia and Ukraine.
The Kremlin also said Trump supported Putin’s idea of holding ice hockey matches between professional US and Russian players.
Russia was frozen out of ice hockey events overseas after the country invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Kyiv will probably see the outcome of Tuesday’s much-anticipated phone call as Putin playing for time, while he adds crippling conditions on any settlement.
Putin has previously insisted Russia should keep control of Ukrainian territory it has seized and has called for Western sanctions to be eased as part of any eventual peace settlement.
The Russian leader has already tasted Trump’s readiness to cut off US support to Ukraine, and is trying to get him to repeat it – while tossing the ball back to Kyiv.
Earlier this month the US temporarily suspended military and intelligence aid to Ukraine after Trump and Zelensky had an altercation in the Oval Office.
Trump and his Vice-President JD Vance dressed down Zelensky in front of the world’s media, accusing him of being ungrateful for American support.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday in Berlin with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the limited ceasefire plan was an important first step, but he again called for a complete ceasefire.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Zelensky after the Trump-Putin call and “reiterated [the] UK’s unwavering support”, a Downing Street spokeswoman said.
[BBC]
It has been reported that the former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon has appeared before the Matara Magistrate’s Court this morning (19),
The former IGP had been evading arrest after the Matara Magistrate’s court had ordered his arrest regarding a shooting incident that took place in front of the W15 Hotel Pelena, Weligama, Matara, in 2023.
Accepting deposits for Local Authorities Election concludes
At least 12 dead in Honduras plane crash
Putin agrees in Trump call to pause Ukraine energy attacks but no full ceasefire
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