New Zealand and South Africa to play in final
Vernon Philander bowled South Africa Emerging Players into Saturday's final as his side inflicted a crushing 242-run defeat on the previously unbeaten New Zealand A
Cricinfo staff
25-Jul-2007
South Africa Emerging Players 6 for 323 (Botha 63*, Ontong 58) beat New Zealand A 81 (Philander 5-18, de Wet 3-28) by 242 runs
Vernon Philander bowled South Africa Emerging Players into Saturday's final as his side inflicted a crushing 242-run defeat on the previously unbeaten New Zealand A. The two teams are guaranteed to play off in the Emerging Players Tournament decider even though there are still two preliminary matches to be played on Friday.
Philander claimed 5 for 18 and Friedel de Wet was also damaging with 3 for 28 as New Zealand collapsed for 81 in 22.4 overs at Allan Border Field. Only three New Zealand batsmen reached double-figures on a horror day for the tournament leaders, with Aaron Redmond top-scoring with 16.
James Marshall's decision to send South Africa in backfired and Johan Botha led his side to an imposing 6 for 323. Botha blasted 63 not out from 42 deliveries and Justin Ontong scored 58, while there were also helpful contributions from Alviro Petersen (47) and Jean-Paul Duminy (44).
Karnataka State Cricket Association XI 2 for 190 (Raghu 76*) beat Australian Academy 8 for 189 (Bailey 49*, Raghu 3-16) by 8 wickets
C Raghu continued his impressive tournament with 3 for 16 and an unbeaten 76 that earned Karnataka State Cricket Association XI their first win of the series. Karnataka beat Australian Academy by eight wickets at Sandgate-Redcliffe, restricting Australia to 8 for 189 and then cruising to the target with 9.1 overs to spare.
It was left to Cullen Bailey and Phillip Hughes to build Australia's total after several top-order batsmen failed to convert their starts. Bailey made 49 not out from 51 balls and Hughes scored 32, and the pair added 51 for the eighth wicket.
Raghu made the chase look easy, belting two sixes and ten fours in his run-a-ball innings and compiling a 104-run partnership with KB Pawan (25). CM Gautam made 48 and together with V Cheluvaraj (23) pushed the score to 71 before the first wicket fell.
The tournament hosts needed to beat Karnataka to have any chance of playing in Saturday's final. They could now finish on the bottom of the table if they lose to South Africa and Karnataka upset New Zealand on Friday.