New Zealand Enters Cricket World Cup Final On Walk-Off

Photo © Hannah Peters/Getty Images.

Entering into the final two balls, New Zealand was down by two points. The country’s World Cup hopes was left to batters Grant Elliot and Daniel Vettori.

Was New Zealand, a team that was dominant throughout the tournament, going to lose in the semifinals?

Well, the pitch from Dale Steyn seemed to come and go as Grant Elliot smashed it over the boundary for six points — over the boundary on a fly is six points and bouncing into the boundary is four — resulting in New Zealand beating South Africa by four runs.

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This was devastating for South Africa, who offensively played fantasticly throughout the tournament — scoring the most points in the pool round.

Afterwards, Steyn could not believe what just happened, as he laid motionless in the dirt. And in a great show of sportsmanship, Elliot stopped his celebration to help Dale up and wish him a good match. The rest of RSA shared in the disappointment as they choked back tears while walking off the field.

At the moment, New Zealand’s opponent in the World Cup final is still unknown. The other semifinal, Australia and India, is set to get underway in just over eight hours. While India has been playing magnificent ball this tournament — and was a favorite for the finals — Australia has beaten them in seven out of the last ten matchups.