World Cup 2015: New Zealand hold nerve to win semifinal thriller against South Africa

AUCKLAND: A nation had a dream and 11 soldiers believed in it. That belief triumphed at the amazing theatre of Eden Park on Tuesday.
The fearlessness and burning desire to make the impossible possible helped New Zealand move into their first-ever World Cup final. At the other end of the spectrum, it was the inability to take their chances that left the South African warriors in tears.And it was ironic that a South African, who has made New Zealand his adopted home, Grant Elliott, pushed the dagger into South African hearts.
Elliott's fifth-ball six off Dale Steyn in the final over devastated the hopes of a country where he grew up, believing that he would represent it on the international stage one day.
It was not about South Africa choking ­ they played their part well in this amazing game. It was about the conviction that every member of the New Zealand team had which took them a step closer to the ultimate prize, the World Cup.
From Brendon McCullum to Corey Anderson, Daniel Vettori to Elliott ­ no one ever believed that they could lose this one, even if the target of 298 off 43 overs looked unachievable. McCullum walked in and smashed the most crucial halfcentury of this World Cup.
He walked down the track to take on Dale Steyn, slapped the champion bowler over his head for sixes, rocked back to cut and hook. He was living by the sword and eventually died by it, trying to cart Morne Morkel into the stands. But he (59 off 26 balls) had shown the way.
There were hiccups all the way for New Zealand. They kept losing wickets as the South Africans bowled and fielded well in patches, but they never lost hope. Losing the likes of in-form Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor midway through the innings could easily have brought the curtains down but this bunch of Kiwis was not to be thrown off track. They have grown up hearing tales and watching on TV the scenes of their cruel 1992 World Cup semifinal defeat against Pakistan, and they were determined not to let it happen again.
At a time when things seemed really tricky, Elliott forged a 103-run fifth wicket partnership with Corey Anderson (58) which brought them close to victory. AB de Villiers, easily the best fielder in the world, missed an easy run-out to give Anderson a costly reprieve. Elliott, too, gave a couple of chances, even as late as the penultimate over, but the South Africans spilled them.
Still, South Africa had 12 runs in the bank going into the last over. The 40,000 fans at the Eden Park were chanting as Steyn charged in to bowl to Vettori. The veteran allrounder believed he could do it, just as Elliott did. A boundary was squeezed through, a couple of singles were managed and it came down to the last two balls. The Kiwis needed five more runs. Elliott moved a little to the off-side and slammed Steyn over long-on, and Eden Park exploded.
The party that had started in the afternoon was truly rocking now. The crowd had tasted blood early on when Trent Boult swung it around to get the two South African openers out.