Elliott and Anderson thrust New Zealand into historic final
ESPNcricinfo staff
24-Mar-2015

South Africa chose to bat in the first semi-final at Eden Park and were met with some pace and movement • ICC
Trent Boult's swing and pace got the better of both South African openers, leaving them on 31 for 2 after eight overs•Associated Press
Boult claimed the New Zealand record for most wickets in a World Cup by overtaking Geoff Allott's record from 1999•Getty Images
Rilee Rossouw came in at No. 4 and combined with Faf du Plessis to put on 83 for the third wicket•Getty Images
Du Plessis brought up his 15th ODI fifty as he anchored the recovery even after Rossouw fell for 39•Getty Images
AB de Villiers injected pace into the innings as he clobbered eight fours and a six before the rain came down•AFP
The rain delay in the 38th over lasted a while and reduced the match to 43 overs per side•AFP
Corey Anderson had du Plessis caught behind for 82, only to bring in David Miller...•AFP
...who smashed 49 off 18 balls, taking South Africa to 281 for 5, setting New Zealand a target of 298•Getty Images
Brendon McCullum ignited New Zealand's chase with a rapid 26-ball 59; 56 of those came in boundaries•Getty Images
Morne Morkel halted the flow of runs and got rid of McCullum and Kane Williamson in successive overs•Getty Images
Ross Taylor played a steady hand to push New Zealand to 128 for 3 in the 18th over•AFP
Anderson, who came in with 149 needed off 128 balls, carved out 58 off 57 to keep New Zealand in the hunt•Getty Images
The pressure rose, New Zealand felt the pinch first as Grant Elliott almost sold Anderson down the river in the 32nd over, but de Villiers missed a tough run-out chance•ICC
Despite the early nerves, the fifth-wicket pair rode the pressure admirably to record 103 runs, taking the score past 250•Getty Images
But a passionate South African team did not give anything away. Du Plessis took a nerveless catch to dismiss Anderson and reduce the equation to 46 off five overs•Getty Images
It came down to 12 off the final over, and then five off two when Elliott launched one of the most important sixes in New Zealand ODI history to take his side to a maiden World Cup final•Getty Images