The rule of thumb in any ODI World Cup is to never rule out the Aussies. Because no matter what, the five-time champions have this perennial thirst for vengeance and victory coursing through their veins at all times.
When it seemed like the world had counted them out after their first two losses early into the competition, their hidden gear kicked in and the Australian side came out and showed everyone why they must be feared, clinching seven straight wins on their way to the ICC Cricket World Cup semi-finals, where they will face South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on November 16.
Follow all the action from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 including the World Cup schedule, World Cup 2023 results, and ICC Cricket World Cup points table. Players are vying to top the World Cup 2023 Most Runs and World Cup 2023 Most Wickets charts.
Let us take a look back at the road they traversed to get to the semi-final:
Game 1: India vs Australia
AUS: 199 all out (49.3 overs), IND: 201/4 (41.2 overs)
Result: IND won by 6 wickets
The opening game of the tournament for both the Aussies and the hosts India. Set to take place on the turning tracks of Chepauk in Chennai, everyone expected the bout to go all the way. But no one could have foreseen the utter dominance that India were set to display. The spinning duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, with the aid of Jasprit Bumrah, ran riot. Australia were skittled for a meagre 199 runs, making it easy for the hosts to chase it down with poise.
And chase it down with poise they did, as after a bit of a shaky start, the likes of talisman batter Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, steadied the ship and helped India to comfortably cruise to a resounding win.
Game 2: South Africa vs Australia
SA: 311/7 (50 overs), AUS: 177 all out (40.5 overs)
Result: SA won by 134 runs
A preview of what is now the second semi-final of the 2023 World Cup took place in the second match of the tournament for Australia. The rivalry between the Aussies and the Proteas runs deep, and usually with Australia having the final laugh over the South Africans in the World Cup especially.
But, this was no meagre South African side they were facing. This was the most feared batting order in world cricket that they were going up against. And boy, did the Proteas not stake their claim over the same in this bout.
It was first the Quinton de Kock show, as the opener lit up the Lucknow skies in a quickfire 109-run innings, and helped set the stage.
Then, it was time for the bowlers to pick off the Aussies one by one, as the South Africans bowled them out to a dismal 177 runs, led by Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj.
Thereby, the Aussies were now down 0-2 in the tournament.
Game 3: Sri Lanka vs Australia
SL: 209 all out (43.3 overs), AUS: 215/5 (35.2 overs)
Result: AUS won by 5 wickets
This was a point of dire desperation for the Aussies. They needed a win and they needed one right here to put their campaign back on track. Down 0-2 and dead-last in the standings, whilst it seemed the other perceived-favorites were off to cracking start was not doing any good for anyone involved. They need to turn things around. Which is exactly why they brought in spinster Adam Zampa, who was slated to throw the Lankans off.
Sri Lanka, who have been sub-par themselves, were off to a fairly decent start with Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka giving them some stability, but Zampa came in to turn the tide around with his menacing spin.
Zampa cleaned up the Lankan ranks, earning himself a stellar figures of 4/47 whilst also restricting the Lankans to a sub-par 209 runs.
This time around, the Aussies came in with a vengeance. Despite a shaky start due Dilshan Madushanka’s startling spell, the batting duo of Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis struck disciplined half-centuries to help steer Australia to their first victory of the World Cup campaign.
Game 4: Australia vs Pakistan
AUS: 367/9 (50 overs), PAK: 305 all out (45.3 overs)
Result: AUS won by 5 wickets
The Aussie opening combo of David Warner and Marsh had put up respectable individual performances, but were still due an explosive partnership. And this was the day they would do so.
Warner and Marsh recorded the highest opening partnership (259) for Australia in ODI World Cup history and also the second-highest opening partnership ever by any team in the competition. Propelled by 163 from Warner and 121 of Marsh, the Aussies out up a mammoth 367 runs on the board for Pakistan to better.
Surprisingly, the Pakistanis put up a fair fight as well. Openers Imam-Ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique got off to a solid start, putting up a 100-run partnership, but a blistering spell from Marcus Stoinis ended it all, and as always, the spinster Zampa came into the attack to clean up the ranks and claim another four-wicket haul for himself and bowl the Men in Green out for 305.
Game 5: Australia vs Netherlands
AUS: 399/8 (50 overs), NED: 90 all out (21 overs)
Result: AUS won by 309 runs
Netherlands were coming off a nail-biting loss against Sri Lanka and a thrilling victory against South Africa, who had run riot all over Australia. But, none of that mattered to the Aussies who had now begun to find their rhythm.
To call this match anything less than a slaughter-fest would do injustice to the Aussies. Warner got off to a hot start yet again, putting another WC century and the cherry on top of it all was Glenn Maxwell’s sensational 106 off 44 balls, the fastest-ever century in a World Cup, which helped Australia put up a heaping total of 399.
Le Oranje stood no chance against the five-time champions, whose bowling attack, once again led by the spin wizard Zampa, just dominated the batting lineup of the Netherlands and wiped them out clean for a pathetic 90 runs.
Zampa clinched his third four-wicket haul of the tournament and the Aussies were now 3-2.
Game 6: Australia vs New Zealand
AUS: 388 all out (49.2 overs), NZ: 383/9 (50 overs)
Result: AUS won by 5 runs
And then stood the time-old rivalry, their Oceanic neighbours, New Zealand.
New Zealand started off the tournament in dashing style as compared to the Aussies, and had clinched four out of four wins, before they fell to the mighty Indians. With a sheer fire to get back to winning ways, and sink the Aussie hopes, the Kiwis came into the encounter hungry.
But, what they were met with was yet another batting masterclass from Australia, this time from recently-returned Travis Head.
Head, who missed out on the first five games of the tournament owing to injury, took no time to get going, as he blitzed the likes of Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner and Matt Henry to boundaries galore and put up a quickfire 109 off 67 balls, till Glenn Phillips came in and did the dirty work to get rid of him.
Still, anchored by solid batting performances all around, the Aussies set yet another humongous target of 389 runs for the Kiwis, who were now being counted out again.
Rachin Ravindra stood up, extending his dream run.
The 23-year-old came in and set the Aussies ablaze in retaliation as he continued his fine form in the WC, and put up a scorching 116 off 89 runs to put the Kiwis in position to contend.
And the bout persisted as timely fifties from the likes of Daryl Mitchell and James Neesham kept the Kiwi hopes alive, and again, it had to go down to the last over for the Aussies to clinch a nail-biter of a win, and probably their most hard-fought one so far in tournament, as the Kiwis fell short by five runs.
Game 7: Australia vs England
AUS: 286 all out (49.3 overs), ENG: 253 all out (48.1 overs)
Result: AUS won by 33 runs
This was the Aussies’ last ‘big-name’ opposition left to face, and what one may have anticipated as the clash of the historic Ashes rivals was now a mere disappointing fixture, due to the poor run of England in the World Cup.
England put up a fair fight, bowling out the Aussies to a commendable yet chase-worthy 286 runs. But, then England’s batting woes continued to plague them and let them down.
Except for some much-needed fifties from their only in-form batter Dawid Malan, and the evergreen Ben Stokes, the English top-order failed again to help themselves get off to a good start and Zampa swooped in to work his magic and claim a three-wicket haul as Australia won the match by a comfortable 33 runs.
Game 8: Afghanistan vs Australia
AFG: 291/5 (50 overs), AUS: 293/7 (46.5 overs)
Result: AUS won by 3 wickets
The game of the tournament for Australia. A match that embodied and epitomized what Australia is all about — grit and determination. This was the match which let everyone know why nobody ever counts the Aussies out.
The Jonathan Trott-coached Afghan side had proven their quality throughout the tournament and were also actively in the hunt for a top-four semi-final spot. And they produced their arguable best performance in this occasion as Ibrahim Zadran’s masterful 129* helped them set a challenging total of 292 for the Aussies.
Zadran was not the only one to shine though, as the Afghan bowlers also did more than their part to make the Aussies’ lives miserable.
Azmatullah Omarzai, Naveen-Ul-Haq, and Rashid Khan came together to absolutely dominate the Aussie batting line-up, which crumbled for a staggering 91/7.
Defeat of the Aussies looked imminent, yet again Afghanistan forgot the cardinal rule — never count the Aussies out.
Maxwell took it on himself to put up nothing short of a blitzkrieg as the Aussie batter exploded for a swashbuckling 201* off just 128 balls peppered with 21 fours and 10 sixes, and led Australia to an all-time classic win, and secured them a spot in the semi-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
Game 9: Bangladesh vs Australia
BAN: 306/8 (50 overs), AUS: 307/2 (44.4 overs)
Result: AUS won by 8 wickets
Australia’s aversion to chasing disappeared ahead of a semi-final with old foes South Africa after a stellar 177 not out from Mitchell Marsh helped the Aussies to just cruise to their second-successive record World Cup chase.
In all credit, Bangladesh put up a fair fight, with some disciplined batting. But at the end of the day, they just lacked that one superstar innings to impose themselves. And, that is exactly what Australia did with Marsh.
Marsh, who was dropped down to No.3, due to Head’s resurgence, came in and took no time to let loose. His fiery 177* was laced with 17 fours and 9 sixes, and along with former skipper Steve Smith, who also put up a respectable supporting stance with Marsh, finished the game off with ease as the Aussies clinched their seventh straight win after beginning the tournament 0-2.
Follow all the action from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 including the World Cup schedule, World Cup 2023 results, and ICC Cricket World Cup points table. Players are vying to top the World Cup 2023 Most Runs and World Cup 2023 Most Wickets charts.
The Aussies thereby ended the group stage clinching third place with a total of 14 points and a 7-2 record to show for it all.
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