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Cricket World Cup 2015: Australia beat India to reach final

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by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

Australia powered into the World Cup final with a 95-run victory over defending champions India in Sydney.

Steve Smith struck a fluent 105 from 93 balls and Aaron Finch 81 as Australia posted 328-7, the highest score in a World Cup semi-final.

India made a solid start to their reply but lost four wickets for 32 runs and fell well short on 233 despite captain MS Dhoni making 65.

Australia will meet fellow co-hosts New Zealand in Sunday’s final in Melbourne.

They will do so looking for their fifth World Cup crown – no other team has more than two – and on the back of a seventh semi-final win in as many attempts.

For India, the defence of the trophy they won on home soil four years ago and a run of 16 consecutive wins in major one-day tournaments – the World Cup and Champions Trophy – is over.

They can reflect on how their top order fell apart after openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma put on 76 inside 13 overs, but perhaps Dhoni’s biggest mistake was calling incorrectly at the toss.

As a result, India, who failed to win any of the 10 matches on their tour of Australia that preceded the World Cup, were made to bowl first on a Sydney pitch that was full of runs.

Even then, Australia failed to fully capitalise on the second-wicket stand of 182 between Smith and Finch, as Michael Clarke’s men were stunted by the off-breaks of Ravichandran Ashwin and a curious collective failure against back-of-a-length bowling.

In all, four Australia batsmen were undone by the short ball, the first being David Warner, offering a leading edge to Umesh Yadav.

That brought Smith to join Finch, who began with uncertainty and rarely looked at his best, but showed tenacity to support his free-scoring partner.

With his familiar shuffle across the stumps, Smith whipped, clipped and pulled three-quarters of his runs through the leg side to become only the fifth man, and first Australian, to score a hundred in a World Cup semi.

As Smith and Finch traded sixes, Australia looked set to move out of sight, but Smith’s hook to deep square leg off Yadav signalled a slowing of the pace.

Four wickets for 51 runs left Shane Watson and James Faulkner to rebuild momentum, with Mitchell Johnson’s nine-ball 27 carrying Australia to a score they would have earlier seen to be the bare minimum.

And Clarke’s men were made to look vulnerable by Rohit and Dhawan, the former going after the short ball, the latter targeting Faulkner with drive after drive.

Fortune also seemed to be going India’s way in what became an increasingly bad-tempered contest. Rohit was reprieved in the first over when an edge off Mitchell Starc was adjudged not to have carried to Watson at first slip, while Dhawan was dropped by a flying Brad Haddin off Josh Hazlewood.

Hazlewood, though, returned to have Dhawan sky a catch to cover and, after Johnson’s extra pace caused Virat Kohli to top-edge and removed Rohit’s leg bail, Australia were rampant.

When Suresh Raina edged Faulkner, all seemed to rest on Dhoni, but his acceleration did not come until the 43rd over, with 121 required and only four wickets in hand.

Glenn Maxwell’s direct hit ensured the assault was not sustained and any slim hopes India maintained departed with their captain.

New Zealand beat South Africa in thriller to reach World Cup final

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by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

New Zealand beat South Africa with a six off the penultimate ball to reach the World Cup final for the first time.

With five needed from two balls, Grant Elliott hit Dale Steyn into the stands to finish unbeaten on 84 and seal a four-wicket win in Auckland.

Elliott and Corey Anderson’s 58 had lifted the Black Caps from 149-4 in their chase of a rain-adjusted 298.

South Africa had earlier posted 281-5, with Faf du Plessis making 82, in a match reduced to 43 overs per side.

Captain AB de Villiers weighed in with an unbeaten 65 for South Africa and David Miller an 18-ball 49 in a target that was escalated by Duckworth-Lewis, but just within New Zealand’s reach.

It was a fourth unsuccessful World Cup semi-final for the Proteas to add to two defeats and the famous 1999 tie with Australia.

For New Zealand, a seventh last-four tie finally yielded a place in the final after six previous losses.

It was earned in a thrilling, fluctuating contest played out in front of a raucous and partisan crowd at Eden Park.

In scarcely believable drama that had echoes of Kane Williamson’s six to defeat Australia by one-wicket earlier in the tournament, South Africa-born Elliott smashed Steyn for six over long-on two balls after Daniel Vettori steered a four to the third-man boundary.

Elliott should have been caught from the final ball of the previous over, but his top-edged hook fell to the ground after a boundary collision by JP Duminy and sub fielder Farhaan Behardien.

That South Africa came so close was down to their third comeback of a game that both teams controlled at various points.

The Black Caps were in the early ascendancy thanks to some dangerous swing bowling and electric fielding that reduced South Africa to 114-3 in the 27th over.

Later, they looked to be sprinting through the run-chase when captain Brendon McCullum destroyed the South Africa attack with a 22-ball half-century that included taking 24 runs from a single Steyn over.

South Africa, though, resisted, just as they had earlier through Du Plessis’ patience, De Villiers’ invention and Miller’s explosive power.

Their defiance in the field came with some help from the home side, as McCullum slapped Morne Morkel to mid-on, Williamson pulled the same bowler on to his own stumps and Martin Guptill was run out in a mix-up with Ross Taylor.

And, when Taylor was caught down the leg side from the off-spin of Duminy, New Zealand still needed 139 from 22 overs.

They were pulled back into contention thanks to the watchful Elliott, who was strong through the covers, and the force of Anderson in a partnership of 103.

De Villiers missed the chance to run out Anderson on 33, failing to gather the ball at the non-striker’s end with the left-hander well short of his ground.

The reprieve was the start of New Zealand’s acceleration towards their target, but after Anderson skied Morkel to square leg with 46 still to get, South Africa clawed their way back once more.

The requirement got down to 23 from the final 12 balls, with 11 runs taken from a Morkel over that included the Elliott reprieve.

A tie would have taken the Black Caps to the final because of their superior group record, but Elliott ensured the co-hosts won outright.

Martin Guptill hits highest World Cup score in New Zealand victory

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Martin Guptill

by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

New Zealand’s Martin Guptill smashed the highest score in World Cup history with 237 not out against West Indies to send his team into the semi-finals.

His 163-ball innings in Wellington featured 11 sixes and 24 fours and beatthe 215 made by West Indies’ Chris Gayle earlier in the tournament.

Guptill, 28, hit 137 from his last 52 balls to help his side post 393-6.

Trent Boult then took four early wickets as New Zealand bowled out the Windies for 250 to seal a 143-run win.

Gayle’s 33-ball 61, featuring eight sixes, entertained the crowd as the Caribbean side scored at a furious pace.

But they continued to lose wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out in 30.3 overs to spark jubilant scenes in the capital.

New Zealand, semi-finalists for the seventh time, will now face South Africa in Auckland on Tuesday, with both seeking a first World Cup final appearance.

Guptill’s score was the second best in one-day international history behind Rohit Sharma’s 264 and propelled the Black Caps to the highest total in a World Cup knockout match.

Having ended a run of 21 innings without a century in New Zealand’s previous match against Bangladesh, he became the fifth player to make an ODI double hundred.

He joined Indians Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, and Gayle in the exclusive club.

His effort was also the fourth highest score in all List A cricket – limited-overs games that are not Twenty20s.

Opener Guptill, who was dropped on four by Marlon Samuels, already held the record for the best ODI score by a New Zealander, having madean unbeaten 189 against England in 2013.

But this effort, played out in front of a raucous Wellington crowd in a home quarter-final, ensured his place in World Cup and New Zealand cricket history.

The right-hander, who began by driving the first ball of the innings for four, heaved six after six over the leg side boundary after reaching his century.

The 10th of his sixes went out of the ground and landed on the roof of the “Cake Tin” stadium.

He shared a partnerships of 143 with Ross Taylor, whose patient 42 was the second highest score in the Kiwi innings.

Guptill, who made his second hundred from only 41 balls, beat the previous best World Cup knockout score of 149 made by Australia’s Adam Gilchrist.

He became the first New Zealander to score hundreds in consecutive World Cup innings and the first of his countrymen to bat through the full 50 overs three times in ODIs.

Gayle became the first man to make a World Cup double hundred against Zimbabwe in Canberra on 24 February.

But his record lasted only 25 days, with Gayle congratulating Guptill on the field when the New Zealander surpassed his score.

Cricket World Cup 2015: Australia beat Pakistan to reach semi-finals

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by Sam Sheringham, BBC Sport

Australia withstood a pulsating spell of fast bowling from Pakistan’s Wahab Riaz to set up a meeting with India in the World Cup semi-finals.

Australia’s hopes of chasing 214 looked in peril when Riaz removed David Warner and Michael Clarke to leave them 59-3.

But Steve Smith countered with a measured 65 and Shane Watson capitalised on a dropped catch to steer Australia home with an unbeaten 64.

Earlier, Josh Hazlewood took 4-35 as Pakistan slid from 97-2 to 213 all out.

Australia’s victory keeps them on course for a fifth World Cup victory and sets up a chance to avenge their 2011 quarter-final defeat by India in Sydney next week.

For a short period, however, their progress was in serious doubt as Riaz rattled their top order with a hostile spell of left-arm fast bowling that had Kevin Pietersen and Allan Border purring in the Test Match Special commentary box.

Sending the ball down at over 90mph, Riaz had Warner caught off a mistimed uppercut before Clarke was undone by a throat-high bouncer that lobbed up off the splice into the hands of Sohail Maqsood at short midwicket.

With Pakistan on top, Watson was given a working over by the fired-up Riaz, who also took every opportunity to direct verbal barbs at the struggling batsman.

He almost became Riaz’s next victim when he top-edged a pull shot to fine leg where Rahat Ali got right underneath the ball only to let it slip through his grasp.

It looked a pivotal moment at the time and so it proved as Watson grew in confidence and began to drive and pull Pakistan’s less pacey bowlers to the boundary.

At the other end, Smith was calmness personified as he stroked his way to a run-a-ball fifty.

His dismissal, trapped lbw by Ehsan Adil, briefly gave Pakistan another sniff of an upset but once again their outfielding let them down as Sohail Khan dropped Glenn Maxwell on five.

Australia did not look back after their second reprieve as Maxwell bludgeoned 44 off 29 balls before Watson drove Khan down the ground for the winning runs.

Hazlewood had earlier justified his selection ahead of Pat Cummins with four wickets as Pakistan wilted after winning the toss.

After both openers fell to sharp slip catches, captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Haris Sohail added 73 for the third wicket before Maxwell’s spin made the breakthrough.

Having twice planted the spinner into the stands, Misbah attempted a slog-sweep but got a top edge to Aaron Finch at deep midwicket.

A combination of disciplined bowling and reckless shots followed as several Pakistan batsmen were unable to capitalise on good starts.

Their total looked well short of par, only for Riaz to briefly bring the contest to life before Smith and Watson’s telling riposte.

India beat Bangladesh to reach Cricket World Cup semi-finals

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by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

Defending champions India coasted into the World Cup semi-finals with a 109-run win over Bangladesh in Melbourne.

Opener Rohit Sharma made a composed 137 from 126 balls and Suresh Raina 65 from 57 as India recovered from 115-3 to post 302-6 at a boisterous MCG.

Bangladesh lost two wickets in the seventh over of their reply and eventually limped to 193 all out in 45 overs as India’s bowlers dominated.

India meet either Australia or Pakistan in a Sydney semi-final on 26 March.

They will go there on the back of 11 successive World Cup victories, a run that stretches back to their success on home soil four years ago.

Their six-match winning streak in this competition has come after a horrible tour of Australia, where they failed to win any of their 10 games across all formats.

But the resurgence in a limited-overs tournament is typical of MS Dhoni’s team, who not only hold the World Cup, but also the Champions Trophy and won the 2007 World Twenty20.

India made the last four by outclassing a Bangladesh team that eliminated England on their way to a first World Cup quarter-final.

Initially, the Tigers were not overawed, despite being made to field first on a very good pitch as some accurate bowling and tight fielding stifled India in the first half of their innings.

However, the rebuilding done by Rohit and Raina in a stand of 122 ensured that India were able to accelerate as Bangladesh became ragged. The batting powerplay yielded 50 runs and the final 15 overs a total of 147.

They came together after Ajinkya Rahane miscued Taskin Ahmed to mid-off and a period when India failed to find the boundary for 11 overs.

Rohit, who drove the first ball of the match for four, had already seen Shikhar Dhawan stumped off Shakib Al Hasan and Virat Kohli caught behind from Rubel Hossain.

He and Raina steadied, then they timed their attack, though Bangladesh can have reason to feel aggrieved after Rohit survived being caught on the leg-side boundary when on 90 because a Rubel full-toss was wrongly deemed too high.

The right-hander completed a seventh one-day hundred and, despite Raina top-edging to the wicketkeeper, unfurled his full range of strokes.

Strong on the back foot throughout, Rohit was now sweetly timing through the covers and brutally pulling on the leg side.

Though he was yorked by Taskin, India still inched past 300 on a ground where no more than 297 has been reached to win a one-day international.

Bangladesh’s bid to pull off both the highest Melbourne chase and win a first World Cup knockout match was derailed when two wickets fell in successive deliveries.

Tamim Iqbal edged Umesh Yadav to wicketkeeper Dhoni and Imrul Kayes was run out in a mix-up with new man Soumya Sarkar.

From there, Bangladesh never looked like threatening as the impressive India attack picked up regular wickets, the highlight being Dhawan’s juggled catch on the fine-leg boundary to hold Mahmudullah off Mohammed Shami.

The enthusiastic crowd ensured a raucous atmosphere throughout, but the match drifted to an inevitable conclusion.

Cricket World Cup 2015: South Africa ease into semi-finals

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by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

South Africa cruised into the World Cup semi-finals with a one-sided thrashing of a sorry Sri Lanka in Sydney.

Off-spinner JP Duminy took a hat-trick and leg-spinner Imran Tahir 4-26 as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 133.

The Proteas then eased to their target for the loss of only one wicket in 18 overs, with Quinton de Kock making an unbeaten 78.

They go on to a last-four meeting with New Zealand or West Indies in Auckland on Tuesday.

South Africa’s first knockout victory in 23 years of playing World Cup cricket takes them to a first semi-final since a famous defeat by Australia in 1999.

In reaching their target with 32 overs to spare, AB de Villiers’ side also completed the fastest successful run chase in a World Cup knockout match as Sri Lanka, finalists in the previous two World Cups, wilted.

Their lacklustre display was not befitting what turned out to be the final international match for Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara’s last ODI. The duo have scored 117 international centuries between them.

After the Proteas’ pace bowlers made early inroads, the spin pair of Duminy and Tahir took advantage of a succession of loose shots, while South Africa were excellent in the field throughout.

Sangakkara, on the back of four successive hundreds, made a painstaking 45 and Lahiru Thirimanne a counter-attacking 41, but no other batsman reached 20.

To cap South Africa’s day, wicketkeeper De Kock, who had managed only 53 runs in his six previous innings, returned to form with a string of cover drives.

Still, their victory was built on a brilliant bowling performance after losing the toss on an excellent pitch.

New-ball pair Kyle Abbott and Dale Steyn took the edges of Kusal Perera and Tillakaratne Dilshan respectively before Sangakkara and Thirimanne steadied with stand of 65.

While Thirimanne was fluent through the off side, Sangakkara was stodgy, taking 16 balls to get off the mark and, at one point, having six from 42 balls.

When Thirimanne became the first of the seven wickets to fall to spin, Sangakkara was forced to watch from the other end as the middle and lower order fell around him.

With the ball holding in the pitch, Thirimanne patted back to Tahir and Jayawardene lobbed the same bowler to short mid-wicket.

Duminy, filling the fifth bowler slot which has caused South Africa problems during the tournament, then got to work to become the first Proteas player to take a World Cup hat-trick.

Angelo Mathews was caught at mid-on and, in Duminy’s next over, Nuwan Kulasekara feathered behind before debutant Tharindu Kaushal was pinned leg before.

For 19-year-old Kaushal, it was a golden duck on his ODI debut having being added to the Sri Lanka squad on the morning of the match.

Sangakkara was left to play a lone hand, but his attempt at aggression was ended with a slash to third man off Morne Morkel.

He departed with 14,234 runs, a tally second only to Sachin Tendulkar, in 404 matches. This was the 150th one-dayer in which he batted with Jayawardene, who has 12,650 runs.

The ruthless South Africa chase ensured that they will not share another international partnership.

Cricket World Cup 2015: West Indies win to reach quarter-finals

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by Sam Sheringham, BBC Sport

West Indies secured a place in the World Cup quarter-finals with a comfortable, if unconvincing, victory over the United Arab Emirates.

The UAE crumbled to 26-5 in Napier as Windies captain Jason Holder took 4-27.

But Nasir Aziz and Amjad Javed exploited some ragged bowling to add a record-tying 107 for the seventh wicket and lift the associates to 175 all out.

Johnson Charles and Jonathan Carter struck fifties as the Windies eased home by six wickets in 30.3 overs.

In reaching their target inside 36.2 overs, West Indies went through on net run rate, although their passage was not confirmed until Pakistan beat Ireland by seven wickets in Sunday’s final Pool B contest in Adelaide.

West Indies’ performance did little to suggest they will be a match for Brendon McCullum’s unbeaten New Zealand side in Wellington on 21 March.

The inconsistency that has blighted their campaign was again in evidence as a wayward spell from Kemar Roach helped the UAE get back into the game after Holder and Jerome Taylor had blown away their top order with some high-class pace bowling.

There was also a show of dissent from former captain Darren Sammy when he reacted badly to being pulled from the attack after one over and earned himself a talking-to from Holder.

By that point, the UAE were in the midst of an impressive recovery in which Aziz and Javed equalled their own team’s record for the highest World Cup seventh-wicket stand, set against Ireland in Brisbane in February.

Aziz top-scored in his first one-day innings, while Javed reached 50 for the first time with seven fours and a huge six, when he planted Taylor into the stands over long-on.

Their partnership was finally ended in the 41st over and the Windies wrapped up the tail efficiently as Taylor dismissed captain Mohammad Tauqir for his third wicket of the day.

With Chris Gayle sidelined by a back injury, Charles was handed an opportunity at the top of the West Indies order, and he kick-started the run chase with a four and a six in the first over on his way to a 34-ball half-century.

Although Dwayne Smith and Marlon Samuels once again posted low scores, and the experiment of moving Andrew Russell up the order did not pay off, Carter found some fluency to guide them home with his maiden ODI fifty.

West Indies captain Jason Holder: “The ball came out really well for me at the start. The pitch was a bit slow but it swung and bounced a bit for me.

“I’m extremely pleased with the way the guys came out and played. We needed to win by a certain margin. We had to show positive intent. We knew we had to finish the game inside 36 overs and we did it.

“New Zealand would be a big test. They are playing some very good cricket.”

UAE captain Mohammad Tauqir: “When West Indies put us in to bat first, they took good advantage of the bowling conditions.

“At 46-6 it was difficult to recover but it was a good effort by Amjad Javed and Nasir Aziz. Amjad been very consistent throughout the tournament and has been a positive for us.

“It was a decent performance for us in this tournament, a good learning experience and it has been very enjoyable.”

Cricket World Cup 2015: England beat Afghanistan in final game

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by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

England’s miserable World Cup ended with a low-key nine-wicket victory over Afghanistan in Sydney.

After rain reduced England’s target to 101 from 25 overs, Ian Bell made an unbeaten 52 to complete the chase with 41 balls to spare.

Afghanistan had earlier been limited to 111-7 from 36.2 overs when the weather intervened for the third time.

England finish fifth in Pool A having beaten only the Afghans and Scotland in their six matches.

Winning just twice is England’s joint-worst return from a World Cup, matching the 1996 tournament. On that occasion, they did at least make it to the quarter-finals.

In Australia and New Zealand, they have suffered heavy defeats by the co-hosts and Sri Lanka, while a loss to Bangladesh in Adelaide confirmed their exit.

That rendered their first one-day international meeting with Afghanistan as a dead rubber, played out in front of a sparse crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The rain, two short intervals and one that kept the players off the field for two and-a-half hours, sucked much of the meaning from an already nondescript contest.

And it was in a match with little riding on it that England found some of the skills they have lacked for most of the tournament – consistency of length with the ball, few mistakes in the field and top-order aggression with the bat.

With cloud cover and a green-tinged wicket providing assistance, England’s seamers worked through an Afghan top order that showed collective uncertainty outside off-stump.

James Anderson and Stuart Broad had catches held at first slip to dismiss Nawroz Mangal and Javed Ahmadi respectively, before Chris Jordan enticed Afsar Zazai to edge behind and Samiullah Shenwari to flash a cut shot to point.

From 34-4 Afghanistan were in danger of capitulation, but the middle-order steadied, without threatening to damage the England attack.

Shafiqullah’s patient 30 was compiled in the company of Nasir Jamal Ahmadzai and Mohammad Nabi, the former edging to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler after the second rain break, the latter well caught by James Tredwell at mid-on, both off Ravi Bopara.

Then, when Shafiqullah was brilliantly held at deep square leg by a diving Bopara from the spin of Tredwell, it was the last major action before the longest rain delay.

Puddles formed around the square and out the outfield, but the rain relented for play to get under way at 20:45 local time.

When the players returned, Hales and Bell took advantage of the inaccuracies of the feisty Afghanistan pace bowlers.

Hales, twice dropped by Najib Zadran at point off the bowling of Shapoor Zadran, pulled a six in the second over and continued to go after anything short.

Bell, more fluent than at any other time in the competition, unfurled pulls and drives as an opening stand of 77 ensured a swift conclusion and no hint of an upset.

Hales’ poke to wicketkeeper Zazai was reward for the lively Hamid Hassan, leaving James Taylor to complete the job with Bell.

Still, it was Afghanistan who had the louder fans at the conclusion. In their historic first World Cup campaign, they have finished one place and one win behind England.

Cricket World Cup 2015: Unbeaten New Zealand defeat Bangladesh

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by Michael Emons, BBC Sport

New Zealand recorded their sixth successive win at the 2015 World Cup as they beat Bangladesh by three wickets.

Chasing 289 to win, the co-hosts reached 290-7 with seven balls to spare, with Martin Guptill scoring 105, Ross Taylor 56 and Grant Elliott 39.

Bangladesh had earlier posted 288-7 from their 50 overs in Hamilton, with Mahmudullah making an unbeaten 128 for his second century in two matches.

New Zealand, who remain unbeaten, had already secured top spot in Pool A.

The Kiwis, who have lost six World Cup semi-finals, will face either Pakistan, Ireland or West Indies in the quarter-finals in Wellington on Saturday, 21 March.

And they showed why they are one of the favourites to win the competition with a hard-fought victory after they had won the toss and elected to bowl first.

In an excellent, hostile opening spell, Trent Boult claimed the wickets of Imrul Kayes and Tamim Iqbal as Bangladesh struggled to 29-2 after 10 overs.

New Zealand should have quickly taken a third wicket but Mahmudullah was dropped on 0 by Guptill and, in the following over, on one by Corey Anderson.

Those missed chances proved costly as Mahmudullah, who scored 103 against England in his last match, hit the highest one-day score of his career.

He was helped by Soumya Sarkar’s 51 for his maiden one-day international half-century, before Sabbir Rahman blasted 40 off 23 balls to help set a challenging total.

The Kiwis looked in trouble at 33-2 after Shakib Al Hasan dismissed Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson.

However, Guptill, who will play for Derbyshire in this year’s County Championship before New Zealand begin their tour of England, put his side in control by scoring 11 fours and two sixes in his 100-ball knock.

In a thrilling finish, New Zealand fell from 210-3 to 269-7 as Shakib ended with 4-55, but Daniel Vettori (16 not out) and Tim Southee (12 not out) saw them home after a rapid 39 from Anderson.

Defeat means Bangladesh finish fourth in Pool A and will play India in the quarter-finals in Melbourne on Thursday, 19 March.

Bangladesh captain Shakib said: “It was a tough day. We batted, bowled and fielded well. They bowled well in the first 10 overs when it was swinging, but we adjusted to the conditions and put a decent total on.

“These games will help us improve our confidence and I hope we have a very good game in the quarter-finals.”

Man of the match Guptill said: “We have a lot of belief and the way we are executing our skills is pleasing. We just need to keep that up over the next few weeks.”

Cricket World Cup 2015: South Africa ease into quarter-finals

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ab_de_villiers

by Michael Emons, BBC Sport

South Africa moved into the World Cup quarter-finals with a routine 146-run victory over United Arab Emirates.

Proteas captain AB de Villiers top scored and was dismissed on 99 after useful contributions from Rilee Rossouw (43) and David Miller (49).

Farhaan Behardien blasted 64 off 31 balls to take South Africa to 341-6, a total UAE never looked like reaching.

Swapnil Patil scored an unbeaten 57 and Shaiman Anwar made 39 but UAE were bowled out for 195 in 47.3 overs.

The victory means South Africa, who have never reached a World Cup final, will finish second in Pool B and, barring shock results, will probably face Sri Lanka in the quarter-final in Sydney on 18 March.

South Africa dominated against a UAE side that has never beaten a Test-playing nation in a World Cup but who surprisingly opted to bowl first after winning the toss.

That decision backfired as South Africa made the eighth highest total of the tournament with De Villiers again leading the way.

He scored the fastest 150 in one-day cricket off 64 balls on his way to an unbeaten 162 against the West Indies earlier in the World Cup and hit six fours and four sixes in his 82 ball-knock on Thursday.

However, he missed out on his 21st ODI century when he sliced the ball to short third man Amjad Javed off Kamran Shazad’s bowling. De Villiers then showed his ability with the ball, taking 2-15 from three overs.

“It’s never just a given you are going to make the quarter-finals of the World Cup, we have a lot of people we are representing back home and we have a great opportunity,” said De Villiers.

“They made it difficult so I was very happy with the way we fought, which is what I want to see as a captain.”

The only disappointment for South Africa was another failure from opening batsman Quinton de Kock, who made an unconvincing 26 off 45 balls before being caught behind. He has only scored 53 runs in their six pool games.

In reply, UAE struggled to cope with the pace of the South African attack, as both Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander claimed two wickets each.

The associate side fell to 45-3, although Patil and Anwar gave their score some respectability. With Fahad Alhashmi unable to bat after suffering a knee injury while bowling, Patil was left unbeaten on 57 as UAE suffered their fifth successive defeat.

Despite another loss, UAE captain Mohammad Tauqir was pleased with his side’s performance. He said: “We bowled well until 44-45 overs when things went a bit wrong. We almost batted 50 overs which is very positive for our batters.

“It has given us a lot of confidence, they have some amazing bowlers. There is a huge difference between our domestic level and this level so the more we play against these nations, the better it is for our cricket.”

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