Summary

  • South Africa beat Sri Lanka by nine wickets

  • S Africa chase 134 in 18 overs: De Kock 78*

  • Sri Lanka 133: Duminy hat-trick, Tahir 4-26

  • Quickest chase in World Cup knockout game

  • First quarter-final, Sydney

  • SA face New Zealand or W Indies in semi-final

  1. SL 3-1 (Steyn 0-3, Abbott 1-0)published at 03:45 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    Dale Steyn maintains the pressure at the other end. A maiden for him. Jim says it is a great pitch, but Sri Lanka have only scored three runs off the first three overs.

  2. Postpublished at 03:45 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    Jim Maxwell
    BBC Test Match Special

    "The pitch looks a beauty. The curator has had some criticism for producing pitches which were too slow and difficult to bat on in the evening, but this one is a corker. The outfield is lightning-fast, it should be 300-plus."

  3. Postpublished at 03:45 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    SangakkaraImage source, BBC Sport
  4. SL 3-1published at 03:42 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    In comes Kumar Sangakkara. The highest run scorer in the tournament so far. But he would not have expected to be in so quickly.

  5. Postpublished at 03:41 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    Vic Marks
    Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

    "It was quite a big edge, Perera was only defending it, but De Kock dived to his left. It bobbled out of his left hand and he was sharp enough to manage to get his left hand underneath it before it hit the ground. The Perera experiment didn't work."

    Listen to Test Match Special commentary via the audio icon.

    South Africa celebrateImage source, Getty Images
  6. WICKETpublished at 03:38 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    We said he looked nervous. Now he is out. The returning Kyle Abbott takes a wicket with his fourth ball. And it is a great catch from the under-pressure Quinton de Kock. The wicketkeeper takes an excellent one-handed catch at the second attempt as he dives in front of first slip. A great start for South Africa.

    Scorecard

    Kyle AbbottImage source, Getty Images
  7. Postpublished at 03:38 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    Vic Marks
    Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

    "I've seen Perera bat before - I've seen him fail, and seen him get runs, but if he does get runs, they will come quickly. Russell Arnold told us he actually used to bat right-handed in his childhood until he switched around."

  8. SL 3-0 (K Perera 3, Dilshan 0)published at 03:35 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    It's Dale Steyn who has the ball in his hand and he nearly makes an early breakthrough. Kusal Perera slashes at the fourth ball of the over, gets a thick edge but the ball races away for two. A nervous start for the batsman.

    Dale SteynImage source, Getty Images
  9. Postpublished at 03:35 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    Michael Vaughan
    Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

    "Your senior core of players like Dale Steyn have to stand up in a game like this."

    Listen to Test Match Special commentary via the audio icon.

  10. How's stat?!published at 03:35 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    An interesting stat from the ICC - these are the bowling averages by different types of bowlers in this World Cup:

    • 21.08 - left-arm seam

    • 33.16 - right-arm seam

    • 39.11 - left-arm spin

    • 48.11 - off-spin

    • 60.10 - leg-spin

  11. What a receptionpublished at 03:31 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    The Sri Lanka opening batsmen walk out and are instantly greeted by a huge cheer from their fans. A crowd of about 30,000 is expected in Sydney. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kusal Perera open the batting. Perera has been moved up the order for this one and will be opening for the first time in the tournament.

  12. Postpublished at 03:29 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    Stephan Shemilt
    BBC Sport in Sydney

    "And on the 33rd day, the ICC created the quarter-finals. 'That's good,' said the ICC. 'We have only eight teams'. Flippancy aside, it feels like this World Cup is really coming alive - Sydney has a big-game atmosphere. Lots of Sri Lanka shirts mulling about the city this morning, shuttle buses from Central Station jam-packed, the ground bathed in sunshine. This is proper."

    South AfricaImage source, Getty Images
  13. How's stat?!published at 03:28 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    Andrew Samson
    BBC Test Match Special statistician

    "With Tharindu Kaushal playing, Sri Lanka have used 19 players in the World Cup. No other team have ever used more than 17."

    Sri LankaImage source, Getty Images
  14. Join the debate at #bbccricketpublished at 03:28 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    MusaBavuma: Wishing the boys the best of luck for the hurdle in front of them. #SA nation behind them. #ProteaFire

    Rana W U Rehman: So it's do or die at CWC15. Call me mad but Sri Lanka, WI, Pak and India to go through.

    No New Zealand. No Australia. No South Africa. Some brave calls from Rana.

  15. Anthem timepublished at 03:27 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    Anthem time. The Sri Lankan one goes on for ages, but what a pleasant, happy tune. Surely the most uplifting of the tournament.

    AnthemImage source, TMS
  16. Postpublished at 03:23 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    Michael Vaughan
    Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

    "A massive toss. You look at South Africa throughout this tournament, they couldn't chase against India and Pakistan. I like Sri Lanka, you're never sure what they're going to throw at the opposition so they're difficult to plan against. I think they're one of the toughest teams mentally, and they'll have huge support around the ground."

    Listen to Test Match Special commentary via the audio icon.

  17. South Africa won't choke - De Villierspublished at 03:22 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    South Africa are "not going to choke" against Sri Lanka, according to captain AB de Villiers.

    The Proteas have never won a knockout match at the World Cup, a record which includes three painful semi-final exits, including that 1999 farce, external that we just mentioned.

    But De Villiers said: "We can't focus on what happened back in the day. We're just going to play a good game of cricket and come out on top. Simple."

    Australia beat South Africa in the 1999 World Cup semi-finalImage source, Getty Images
  18. Can South Africa end their miserable run?published at 03:21 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    Speaking of pressure, that is something that South Africa have not exactly handled in previous World Cups.

    Remember 1999? It remains one of the worst moments in South African cricket. Allan Donald's comical / farcical run out left the scores level in their semi-final against Australia.

    But Australia progressed into the final because they had finished higher in the Super Six phase earlier in the competition.

    South AfricaImage source, BBC Sport
  19. The new Muralitharan?published at 03:16 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    The newest name at the World Cup is Tharindu Kaushal, who will make his one-day international for Sri Lanka in this World Cup quarter-final.

    The 22-year-old off-spinner,, external likened to Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan, was brought into the squad as a replacement for Rangana Herath, who has a cut to his spinning finger and becomes the fifth Sri Lanka player to drop out of the original party.

    Born in Galle, Kaushal has only appeared in one international match - the Boxing Day Test against New Zealand in Christchurch, taking 1-159 and 1-48.

    Tharindu KaushalImage source, Getty Images
  20. Increasing the pressurepublished at 03:16 Greenwich Mean Time 18 March 2015

    A duplicate Murali? Nothing like ramping up the pressure on a new player. But what do you know about Sri Lanka's new boy? Let us fill in the details.