Five-time champion Australia have moved into top gear as they take on the South Africans at the Eden Gardens for a place in the finals. The kind of recoveries they have made in this tournament is nothing short of miraculous and it typifies the Australian spirit of never giving up.
Glenn Maxwell’s double century and the extreme physical discomfort in which he scored it, is the stuff of dreams. From a totally hopeless position, he dashed the hopes of Afghanistan of qualifying for the semifinals. True, Afghanistan did not have the experience to play the moment and not think they had already won the match, but it still was an innings of great physical courage and mental strength that took Australia home.
It’s this same going-to-extreme-lengths-to-do-the-impossible for Australia that the South Africans will be up against. They too, are a proud sporting nation, but have nothing to show in the trophy cabinet in cricket. Their rugby team recently won the World Cup and if the cricketers can take inspiration from that and go the extra mile, then they have the capability of putting it across the Aussies.
