Proteas defeats Australia in the last league game of World Cup; Aussies to face England in semis
India to play New Zealand on Tuesday in first semi final
Manchester: David Warner's brilliant century went in vain as a Faf du Plessis-inspired South Africa beat defending champions Australia by 10 runs to pull the curtains on their disappointing World Cup campaign on a high here.
Australia needed to win to top the standings after India's clinical victory over Sri Lanka earlier on Saturday, but the defending champions fell short despite Warner registering his third ton of the tournament (122 off 117 balls) and wicket-keeper Alex Carey's 85 off 69.
Already eliminated, South Africa were inspired by Du Plessis' fluent 100 of 94 balls and Rassie van der Dussen's career-best 95 to post a challenging 325 for six in the last league game of the tournament.
The Proteas came out with purpose and defended the target with Kagiso Rabada (3/56), Dwaine Pretorious (2/27) and Andile Phehlukwayo sharing the honours with the ball, as Australia were bundled out for 315 in 49.5 overs.
Australia finished the league stage in the second spot with 14 points from nine game and will take on hosts England in the second semi-final at Birmingham on Thursday. India will play New Zealand in the first-semifinal here on Tuesday.
Besides Warner and Carey, no other Australian batsmen could make any notable contribution with the bat.
Australia were reduced to 119 for four in 24.1 overs before Warner and Carey stitched 108 runs off just 90 balls for the fifth wicket to keep the title holders in the hunt.
But once the duo departed, Australia's chase fell apart. Earlier, openers Aiden Markram (34) and Quinton de Kock (52) came out with positive intent after South Africa opted to bat.
Du Plessis and Van der Dussen carried forward the good work on a batting friendly pitch with a 151-run stand for the third wicket and in the process, the South African skipper raised his 12th ODI century.
After taking some time, Du Plessis worked the ball around nicely in the middle overs while Van der Dussen shifted gears in the latter stage of the innings.
Van der Dussen raised the team's 300 with a six off Pat Cummins but he holed out to Glenn Maxwell at the deep midwicket boundary while trying to hit a six off the last ball of the innings.
Nevertheless, Van der Dussen helped his team's cause and hit four sixes and as many fours in his entertaining knock. J P Duminy's last ODI innings for South Africa yielded 14 runs.
The Proteas openers timed the ball nicely and raised 79 runs in quick time, not sparing even Mitchell Starc, one of the best in the business.
Markram stroked beautifully on the off-side while De Kock too was a delight to watch.
Markram, when on 32, offered a difficult chance to Jason Behrendorff but the pacer couldn't grab it. However, he did not last long and was stumped off Nathan Lyon. The off-spinner soon sent back De Kock, who miscued one straight to Starc at backward point.
Realising that spinners are getting purchase from the wicket, Glenn Maxwell was employed and he did trouble the South African batsmen. He could have got the wicket of Van der Dussen but Carey missed a regulation stumping chance. He was on 4 at that time.
The run rate took a beating after those wickets but Van der Dussen and Du Plessis gradually shifted gears during their partnership.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
