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Australia has missed out on a first-placed finish in the group stage of the Cricket World Cup, after losing to South Africa by 10 runs at Old Trafford.
A second-versus-third semi-final showdown with England is now locked in, after India beat Sri Lanka earlier on Sunday morning (AEST) to go top of the table.
India completed its seven-wicket win at Headingley while Australia was in the early stages of its run chase in Manchester, confirming a win was required if the defending champions were to leapfrog back over India and finish the group stage on top.
Unfortunately for those in green and gold, when India moved into provisional first place, Aaron Finch and Steve Smith had both been dismissed and Usman Khawaja had retired hurt with a hamstring injury that could see him miss the rest of the tournament.
Effectively three wickets down in a challenging chase of 326 runs, the last thing Australia needed was another injury, but it appeared that was what it got when Marcus Stoinis called for treatment for back pain early in his dig.
Struggling to contort his body in any meaningful way, Stoinis battled to 22 off 34 before Quinton de Kock produced a superb backhand flick to run out the lumbering all-rounder, leaving Australia 3-91 in the 19th over.
Warner was only briefly united with another of Australia's most dynamic hitters, Glenn Maxwell (12), who also fell victim to some de Kock brilliance when a top-edged pull shot was reeled in by the leaping wicketkeeper's right hand at full extension.
Joined at the crease by the in-form Alex Carey, Warner carried on as his teammates could not and eventually notched his century — his third of the tournament — in the 34th over, but the required run rate was hovering around nine an over.
So, Warner and Carey decided to take care of that too, picking gaps and finding the boundary with regularity that had not been seen up until that point in the innings and bringing up their 100-run partnership off just 82 balls.
Carey notched a milestone of his own soon after, reaching a half-century off 47 balls as Australia's hope of victory returned, only for them to be dashed again three balls later when Warner chipped Dwaine Pretorius to mid-off and had to depart for 122 off 117.
And, despite a few more lusty blows from Carey, who eventually holed out for 85 with the team still trailing by 50, there was simply too much work left to do for Australia's tail, even if it was briefly bolstered by the return of a hobbled Khawaja.
He added 10 runs to his 6, before Mitchell Starc, Jason Behrendorff and Nathan Lyon slogged enough sixes to keep the game alive into the final over, only for Lyon to hole out on the penultimate ball of the day, ending the innings on 315.
The victory was vindication for Faf du Plessis, who told Australia to bowl after winning the toss.
Both Starc and Pat Cummins looked short of their sharpest in their early spells, and Behrendorff lacked the swing that had made him such a valuable inclusion to the side.
As the bowling faltered, de Kock (52) and Aiden Markram (34) made hay. They battered the bowling to all parts for the first 10 overs, going at comfortably over a run a ball while playing some exquisite shots.
Australia turned to Lyon for a breakthrough, and the tweaker delivered. Aided by some sharp work by Carey, Markram was stumped for 34, before de Kock miscued one to Starc at short third man for 52.
The wickets slowed South Africa down somewhat, but du Plessis (100) and Rassie van der Dussen (95) tasked themselves with keeping the innings ticking over — the latter aided by a missed stumping chance from Carey.
That partnership soon flourished, with big shots added to the excellent rotation of the strike. Both passed half-centuries before picking up the pace.
The celebration that followed du Plessis's excellent century was immense, perhaps distracting him somewhat as he was out attempting to slog Behrendorff from the next ball he faced on 100. His job, for the most part, was done.
From that point on, the last 10 overs see-sawed as van der Dussen sporadically caught fire and dispatched Australia's otherwise tight bowling. JP Duminy (14) and Dwaine Pretorius (2) fell in the pursuit of late runs, before van der Dussen faced his last chance to reach a ton.
Needing a six from the final ball of the innings, his shot could only reach the hands of Maxwell in the deep, but he had done enough to help the Proteas end a disappointing World Cup campaign on a high.
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Topics: sport, cricket, united-kingdom, england, australia, south-africa
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