South Africa choke Sri Lanka with spin, enter World Cup semi-finals

For the first time in World Cup history, South Africa managed to win a knockout game. The moment arrived at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Wednesday when they cruised to a 9-wicket victory over Sri Lanka to book a spot in the semi-finals of ICC World Cup 2015. (Full text: Sangakkara retires)

; World Cup Special; Quarter-final schedule; Match Report

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews won a crucial toss and opted to bat first. But it was the domination of SA spinners in the first half of the match. Then, SA batters completed the victory with ease. It was a case of chokers choking their opponents today. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 133 and the Proteas won in 18 overs.

The live updates of the match are here (All times in IST)

2.27 PM: ALL OVER. South Africa are into the semi-finals of World Cup 2015. They have won a World Cup knockout game for the first time. Scores: SL 133 all out in 37.2; SA 134/1 in 18

SA's previous knockout games

1992 - Lost to England in semi-final

1996 - Lost to West Indies in quarter-final

1999 - Tied with Australia (eliminated as they had lost to them in Super Six stage)

2007 - Lost to Australia in semi-final

2011 - Lost to New Zealand in quarter-final

2.12 PM: SA 110/1 in 15 overs. At this stage, SL were 50/2

2.09 PM: 100 up for SA in 14 overs for the loss of 1 wicket. Another 34 to win

2.04 PM: Ordinary bowling from Chameera. SA have raced to 96/1 in 13 overs. FIFTY for De Kock in 39 balls. The opener was under pressure with low scores coming into this match. But he has turned it about in the big clash

1.54 PM: SA doing it easily here. 77/1 in 11 overs. Another 57 to win in 39 overs

1.39 PM: Faf du Plessis has joined De Kock at the crease. Should be easy from now on for SA. 48/1 in 8.4

1.32 PM: SA's run chase has restarted

12.53 PM: Match will resume after 45 minutes. SA need 94 more to win from 43.2 overs

12.52 PM: WICKET - Amla is out for 16. Malinga gets the wicket. SA 40/1 in 6.4 overs and it is time for supper break

12.45 PM: 'Mystery spinner' Tharindu Kaushal, on ODI debut, is brought on to bowl

12.43 PM: After 5 overs, SA 32/0. Need 102 more to reach semi-finals

12.30 PM: Former India batsman VVS Laxman is disappointed with SL's batting

SL will be disappointed with their batting performance. I felt they didn't show positive intent. #CWC2015

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) March 18, 2015

12.26 PM: Dilshan has taken the other new ball. SL using spin early. SA 6/0 in 1.3 overs

12.21 PM: FOUR - Amla hits Malinga's first ball to the boundary

12.20 PM: Players are back on the field. SA open with Amla and De Kock. Can SL defend this small total?

12.15 PM: Watch Duminy's hat-trick

WATCH! JP Duminy takes a hat-trick: http://t.co/7frVn87jkH pic.twitter.com/JThmk3qIvd

— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) March 18, 2015

12.14 PM: Before today, SA had never won a knockout game at World Cup. This could change in the next couple of hours. Excellent effort by their bowlers

12.09 PM: ALL OUT. SL bowled out for 133 in 37.2 overs. Poor batting effort from the Islanders. 4 wickets for Tahir. Duminy took a hat-trick. 1 scalp each for Styen, Abbott and Morkel

12.06 PM: Play restarts. Lasith Malinga is the last man in. SL 127/9

11.47 AM: There are reserve days for knockout games. Read about the rules here

11.43 AM: RAIN stops play

11.42 AM: WICKET - That is the end of Sangakkara (45 off 96). Could be the last innings of ODI career too. SL 127/9 in 36.2 overs

11.40 AM: At the end of 36 overs, SL are 127/8. The batting powerplay is on. How will Sangakkara approach this?

11.33 AM: Tahir is ecstatic

Tahir is giving Steyn a run for his money on the celebrations! WATCH him dismiss Thirimanne: http://t.co/7mb7wGYtaR pic.twitter.com/ZlA0JK8mh4

— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) March 18, 2015

11.31 AM: WICKET - Three in three. Duminy takes a HAT-TRICK, second one in this World Cup (1st Steven Finn of England). 'Mystery spinner' Thirandu Kaushal LBW for a golden duck on debut. Duminy had taken a wicket off the last ball in previous over. SL 116/8 in 34.2

11.28 AM: WICKET - Another one bites the dust. SL falling apart. Sangakkara still there. Kulasekara out for a duck. Duminy gets his 2nd scalp. SL 116/7 in 34.1

11.26 AM: WICKET - Perera goes for a duck. Tahir gets him. SL 116/6 in 33.4

11.21 AM: WICKET Captain Mathews departs. Duminy has his first wicket. SA on top. SL 114/5 in 33 overs. The chokers are choking the opposition at the moment

11.08 AM: Sangakkara is batting on 29 off 76 balls. He needs to be there till the end. Having played so many deliveries, it is important for him be till the 50th over. SL 105/4 in 30 overs

11.00 AM: Google doodle for this match

Nice touch from @Google South Africa today with a specially themed #GoogleDoodle for #SLvSA http://t.co/eDWxgwBNWb pic.twitter.com/UDGvDuT6ef

— ICC (@ICC) March 18, 2015

10.58 AM: 100 up for SL in 28.1 overs. Slow going this. 4 wickets down. Sangakkara and Mathews need to carry on for long if they need a decent total to defend

10.41 AM: WICKET Sri Lanka are in big trouble now as Jayawardene departs for 4 (16). Tahir gets his second wicket. SL 81/4 in 23.1 overs

10.26 AM: WICKET - Big one. Thirimanne is caught and bowled by legspinner Tahir. SL 69/3 in 19.1

10.15 AM: Take a look at Styen's celebrations after dismissing Dilshan for a duck

Fair to say Dale Steyn might have just enjoyed getting the wicket of Dilshan!! http://t.co/eDWxgwBNWb #SLvSA #cwc15 pic.twitter.com/vUa0ruQuj0

— ICC (@ICC) March 18, 2015

10.13 AM: Thirimanne and Sangakkara have staged a recovery. SL are 50/2 in 15 overs

9.49 AM: End of the mandatory powerplay overs. SL 35/2 in 10. This is the lowest opening 10-over score for them in this World Cup. Thirimanne has come and counter-attacked after early losses. He is on 27 off 21. Sangakkara 2 not out

9.44 AM: Back to back boundaries from Thirimanne off Morkel. SL 27/2 in 9 overs

9.43 AM: Former captain Graeme Smith says SA's intensity is "great" and want them to continue till the end

Our intensity is great, need to maintain for full 50 overs. Especially through middle period. #proteafire

— Graeme Smith (@GraemeSmith49) March 18, 2015

9.34 AM: Sangakkara is off the mark, took him 16 balls. SA bowlers have been very good so far. SL 18/2 in 7 overs

9.20 AM: WICKET - Styen is pumped up after getting Dilshan for a duck. SL in early trouble at 4/2 in 4.1 overs

9.07 AM: WICKET - Kyle Abbott strikes early. Kusal Perera c wicketkeeper De Kock for 3. SL 3/1 in 1.4 overs. Kumar Sangakkara, who has hit 4 successive centuries, comes to the crease

9.00 AM: Dale Steyn opens the bowling. Kusal Perera faces the first ball. Tillakaratne Dilshan is at the other end.

8.45 AM: The Sri Lankans have included "mystery spinner" Tharindu Kaushal who is a "duplicate" of Muttaiah Muralitharan, according to Mathews. Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath is not fit. Kaushal, the offspinner will be making his ODI debut today.

The Sri Lanka skipper said they wanted to put runs on the board in this "big" quarter-final. "Rangana (Herath) is not fit, Tharindu Kaushal has been drafted in, he's a duplicate Murali. Mystery spinner," Mathews said.

South Africa have never won a knockout game at World Cup. Will it change today?

Playing XIs

Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (captain), Kusal Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (wicketkeeper), Mahela Jayawardene, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Tharindu Kaushal, Dushmantha Chameera, Lasith Malinga

South Africa: AB de Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Faf du Plessis, Rilee Rossouw, David Miller, JP Duminy, Dale Steyn, Kyle Abbott, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir

Match starts 9 AM IST

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