Rabada takes six for 25 as South Africa reaches third ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Final

Friday, 28 February 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada produced the best bowling performance of the tournament to date as South Africa beat three-time former champion Australia by 80 runs in the second semi-final of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2014 in front of Star Sports cameras at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

Rabada, who came into the match with seven wickets, returned figures of 8.2-0-25-6 as Australia, chasing 231 for victory, lost its last seven wickets for 54 runs in about 14 overs to be bowled out for 150 in 42.2 overs. Rabada dismissed the top three batsmen to leave Australia reeling at 33 for three, and then returned to rip the heart out of the Australia middle and lower middle-order with some very fast, aggressive and accurate bowling. The only Australia batsman to bat with some confidence was Jake Doran who scored 36 while captain Alex Gregory contributed 31. The two batsmen put on 66 runs for the fourth wicket in about 22 overs. The partnership ended when Rabada brought off a smart catch at mid-off to dismiss Gregory. Both the batsmen fell to Corbin Bosch who finished with impressive figures of two for 25. Wednesday’s result means both the finalists from the 2012, Australia and India, will now feature in the play-offs, while Saturday’s final will be between two-time former champion Pakistan and South Africa, which has previously reached the final in 2002 and 2008. The final will be broadcast live by Star Sports and will start at 1200 local time.