1st Quarter-final: South Africa vs Sri Lanka
Tahir was named Man of the Match for his bowling figures of 4-26 off 8.2 overs
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
A spectacular all-round performance saw South Africa crush Sri Lanka by nine wickets in Sydney and knock them out of the World Cup.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews would have been regretting his decision to bat first since none of the batsmen, with the exception of Kumar Sangakkara, who was playing in his last ODI, and Lahiru Thirimanne, made any valuable contributions.
Sangakkara scored 45 off 96 balls, which included three boundaries, while Thirimanne made 41 off 48 deliveries, which included five boundaries as Sri Lanka were bowled out for a dismal 133.
Imran Tahir was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets, while Jean Paul (JP) Duminy became the first South African and only the eighth bowler in World Cup history to take a hat-trick. The pace trio of Morne Morkel, Kyle Abbott and Dale Steyn chipped in with one wicket apiece.
Duminy is ecstatic after becoming the first South African to take a World Cup hat-trick
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Chasing 134 to win, South Africa lost opener Hashim Amla for 16 runs before wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock took over.
De Kock and Faf du Plessis amassed an unbeaten 94-run partnership, during which de Kock brought up his half-century, to lead the Proteas to victory.
De Kock finished on 78 off 57 balls, which included 12 boundaries.
De Kock raises his bat after bringing up his half-century
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Lasith Malinga was the only bowler to take a wicket.
Tahir was named Man of the Match.
2nd Quarter-final: India vs Bangladesh
Sharma celebrates after scoring his seventh ODI century
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
India opener Rohit Sharma smashed a sensational century to not only demolish Bangladesh by 109 runs, but also lead his side into the World Cup semi-finals.
After choosing to bat first, India got off to an excellent start before they lost a few quick wickets.
Sharma and Suresh Raina stabilised the innings with a 122-run partnership before Raina was dismissed for a brilliant 65, which came off 57 balls and included seven boundaries and a six.
Raina smashed seven boundaries and a six during his innings of 65
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Sharma went on to score 137 off 126 deliveries, which included 14 boundaries and three sixes, as India finished on 302/6 off their 50 overs.
Taskin Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, while captain Mashrafe Mortaza, Rubel Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan chipped in with one wicket apiece.
Chasing 303 to win, a majority of Bangladesh’s batsmen got off to positive starts before they threw their wickets away.
Since Nasir Hossain was the top-scorer with 35 runs, it came as no surprise when Bangladesh were bowled out for 193.
Umesh Yadav inflicted the most damage as he took four wickets, while Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja snapped up two wickets each and Mohit Sharma claimed one.
Rohit Sharma was named Man of the Match.
3rd Quarter-final: Australia vs Pakistan
Smith raises his bat after scoring his half-century
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Australia batsman Steve Smith and all-rounder Shane Watson both made half-centuries to help the Baggy Greens cruise past Pakistan by six wickets in Adelaide.
After Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq chose to bat first, he would have been disappointed with the fact that many batsmen got off to excellent starts but failed to convert those starts into half-centuries and triple figure scores.
In fact, Haris Sohail was the top-scorer with 41 runs as Pakistan were bowled out for 213.
Josh Hazlewood was the most successful bowler with four wickets, while Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell took two wickets apiece and Mitchell Johnson and James Faulkner chipped in with one wicket each.
Hazlewood finished with figures of 4-35 off 10 overs
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Chasing 214 to win, Australia lost three early wickets before Smith and Watson steadied the innings with an 89-run partnership before Smith was dismissed for 65, which came off 69 balls and included seven boundaries.
Watson and Maxwell finished things off with an unbeaten 68-run partnership, during which Watson surpassed his half-century.
Watson ended up making 64 off 66 deliveries, which included seven boundaries and a six.
Watson hit seven boundaries and a six during his unbeaten knock of 64
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Wahab Riaz was the pick of the bowlers with two wickets, while Sohail Khan and Ehsan Adil claimed one wicket each.
Hazlewood was named Man of the Match.
4th Quarter-final: New Zealand vs West Indies
Guptill smashed 24 boundaries and 11 sixes during his record-breaking knock of 237
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Martin Guptill became the first New Zealander to score an ODI double century as the Blackcaps thrashed the West Indies by 143 runs in Wellington.
New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum would have been delighted with his decision to bat first as Guptill went absolutely berserk after being dropped by Marlon Samuels on four runs.
Thanks to a few valuable contributions from New Zealand’s middle order, the Blackcaps finished on 393/6 off their 50 overs.
Guptill remained undefeated on 237, which is the second-highest score in ODI history.
During his unbelievable innings of 237, which came off 163 balls, Guptill walloped 24 boundaries and 11 sixes.
Jerome Taylor was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, while Andre Russell took two.
Chasing 394 to win, West Indies opener Chris Gayle was the only batsman to do any real damage as he hammered 61 runs off 33 deliveries, which included two boundaries and eight sixes.
Gayle was the West Indies’ top-scorer with 61 runs
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
After Gayle had been dismissed, the West Indies’ middle and lower order completely collapsed.
Despite a valiant 42 by captain Jason Holder, the West Indies still ended up being bowled out for 250.
Trent Boult was the most successful bowler with four wickets, while Tim Southee and Daniel Vettori snapped up two wickets apiece and Adam Milne and Corey Anderson claimed one wicket each.
Guptill was named Man of the Match.