ICC World Cup 2015: South Africa vs UAE - As it happened...

Welcome to the live coverage of the Pool B match between South Africa and United Arab Emirates at Wellington.

New Delhi: South Africa defeated UAE by 146 runs in the 36th match of the ICC World Cup 2015 played at Westpac Stadium, Wellington.

Over 47.3 | Score 195/9

It's all over for UAE! South Africa have won the match by 146 runs. Last two wickets were picked by Philander and Steyn respectively. Fahad Alhashmi was injured while bowling and he won't be able to bat as well.

Kamran Shazad c Steyn b Philander 0 (3b)

Mohammad Tauqir b Steyn 3 (16b)

Over 45 | Score 186/7

Tauqir and Patil are still at the crease and they are trying their best to survive till 50 overs. Patil is batting on 48 and he has consumed 89 balls for it.

Over 40 | Score 166/7

The match is now just a formality as the UAE batsmen are throwing their wickets away one after the other. After hitting some good strokes, Mohammad Naveed pulled one towards midwicket where AB took an easy catch. South Africa would want to pick the remaining three wickets and end this match as soon as possible.

Mohammad Naveed c de Villiers b Philander 17 (15b)

Over 35 | Score 130/6

Ab de Villiers brought himself into the attack and has picked two wickets since then! First Saqlain Haider pulled one towards deep midwicket where Rossouw held on to another brilliant low catch post and in his very next over, Amjad Javed mistimed one towards midwicket where substitute fielder Wayne Parnell grabbed the opportunity.

Amjad Javed c sub (WD Parnell) b de Villiers 5 (4b)

Saqlain Haider c Rossouw b de Villiers 7 (12b)

Over 30 | Score 108/4

Tahir ended Anwar's resistance as he hit one straight to Rossouw at deep midwicket. Swapnil Patil is the set batsman and the onus would now be on him to keep the scoreboard ticking. Saqlain Haider is the next man in.

Shaiman Anwar c Rossouw b Imran Tahir 39 (64b)

Over 25 | Score 83/3

Shaiman Anwar is once again fighting a lone battle for his team. He is trying his best to come up with big hits, but hasn't got much success considering the quality bowling at display. Swapnil Patil is the other batsmen at the crease but he isn't taking too many chances.

Over 20 | Score 61/3

Both Anwar and Patil are scoring runs at a very slow pace. The UAE have realised that they should focus on batting for 50 overs, which should be a more realistic dream for them.

Over 15 | Score 50/3

Duminy picked his first wicket of the match when Amjad Ali pulled a short ball straight into the hands of Behardien at deep square leg. Morne Morkel was bowling a severe intimidating spell and he even hit Khurram Khan on the helmet before finally picking his wicket. Shaiman Anwar and Swapnil Patil are the two new batsmen at the crease. Anwar has been the man in form for UAE and he needs to score another big knock to help his side reach a respectable total.

Khurram Khan c de Kock b Morkel 12 (17b)

Amjad Ali c Behardien b Duminy 21 (36b)

Over 11 | Score 45/1

Morkel struck in his first over where he troubled Berenger with a short ball, he got a top edge and Rossouw grabbed a brilliant one-handed catch to give Australia their first breakthrough. Khurram Khan is the new man in and Morkel has already tested him with a few short balls, one of which hit him right on the helmet.

AR Berenger c Rossouw b Morkel 5 (21b)

Over 5 | Score 19/0

Decent start by the Bangladeshi openers Amjad Ali and Andri Berenger. Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel shared the new ball attack and these two made sure there is no damage done in the first five overs.

Over 50 | Score 341/6

Behardien scored 15 runs in the penultimate over of the innings and smashed Amjad Javed for a six in the last over to reach his half-century off just 27 balls. He collected 25 runs from the last over and South Africa have reached a very formidable score as a result of his stupendous knock! UAE bowled poorly in the death overs and they rightly paid a price for doing so.

Over 48 | Score 301/6

Mohammad Naveed picked his third wicket of the match in form of Duminy who was trapped in front of the wicket. Without playing brutal cricket, the Proteas have reached 300 runs. Behardien is batting on 33 and all eyes are now on him.

JP Duminy lbw b Mohammad Naveed 23 (28b)

Over 46 | Score 283/5

After AB's dismissal, UAE have managed to contain the runs. Duminy and Behardien have scored one boundary each and it's time for some fireworks for a huge total!

Over 43 | Score 262/4

South Africa have scalped the big fish! Batting on 88, he tried to clear the off-side field against the bowling of Kamran Shazad, but was caught at gully. Behardien is the new man in. Duminy needs to attack from here onwards if South Africa have to cross the 320-run mark.

AB de Villiers c Amjad Javed b Kamran Shazad 99 (82b)

Over 38 | Score 216/4

David Miller fell just one run short of his half-century when he tried to pull a short of a length delivery from Mohammad Naveed, got an edge which hit the stumps. JP Duminy is the new man in. Amjad Javed committed a blunder in the 38th over of the innings where he dropped de Villiers' catch off his own bowling. The right-hander was batting on 63 then and he hit a six off the next ball. Big opportunity missed by UAE.

DA Miller b Mohammad Naveed 49 (48b)

Over 35 | Score 198/3

So without taking too many risks, South Africa have already scored 198 runs. AB de Villiers reached his half-century off 54 balls. The partnership is now worth 102 runs and with power play to come in the next five overs, we can expect plenty of fireworks from these two big hitters.

Over 30 | Score 158/3

UAE missed out on another opportunity when David Miller was dropped by skipper Tauqir for just 20 runs. Tauqir was casual at short cover where he went for the catch one-handedly and spilled it. Miller has got yet another life after he survived a run-out chance early in the innings. These missed chances could prove to be very costly for UAE as Miller is a big hitter and when required, he can hit sixes at will.

Over 25 | Score 134/3

After the loss of three wickets, Miller and AB have stabilised the innings and currently they are not playing risky strokes. These two need to bat for atleast ten more overs after which they can go for the kill.

Over 20 | Score 104/3

After playing yet another scratchy innings, de Kock was dismissed in the 16th over of the innings where he edged a delivery from Amjad Javed behind the stumps. The ground umpire didn't think it was out post which the decision was reviewed and de Kock had to walk back towards the pavilion. Rossouw was the next man dismissed as he was deceived by the flight offered by Tauqir. Skipper Tauqir has bowled extremely well so far. AB de Villiers and David Miller are the two new men at the crease.

RR Rossouw c & b Mohammad Tauqir 43 (49b)

Q de Kock c Saqlain Haider b Amjad Javed 26 (45b)

Over 15 | Score 82/1

Mohammad Tauqir brought himself into the wicket in the 13th over of the innings and after a very impressive first over, he almost bowled de Kock in the 15th over where the left-hander was playing for spin and the ball went straight, inches over the stumps. The run-rate has slowed down to an extent in the last five overs.

Over 10 | Score 61/1

Quinton de Kock is still struggling to find runs however he scored two boundaries in the tenth over. This partnership is now worth 44 runs.

Over 6 | Score 41/1

Rilee Rossouw is the new man in and while de Kock continues to struggle for gaps, Rossouw is in sublime form and he has already scored four boundaries. There has been some poor bowling from UAE as well.

Over 3 | Score 17/1

Mohammad Naveed got UAE their first major breakthrough when he surprised Hashim Amla by a short ball which he skied in the air and was caught. Big blow for the Proteas, dream start for UAE.

UAE won the toss and invited South Africa to bat first.

Teams (from):

United Arab Emirates: Amjad Ali, Andri Berenger, Krishnachandran Karate, Khurram Khan, Shaiman Anwar, Swapnil Patil(k), Rohan Mustafa, Amjad Javed, Mohammad Naveed, Mohammad Tauqir(c), Manjula Guruge, Nasir Aziz, Fahad Alhashmi, Kamran Shazad, Saqlain Haider

South Africa: Quinton de Kock(k), Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, Rilee Rossouw, AB de Villiers(c), David Miller, Jean-Paul Duminy, Dale Steyn, Kyle Abbott, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir, Farhaan Behardien, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Vernon Philander

PREVIEW: AB de Villiers wants consistency and commitment in South Africa`s final pool match against the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, aware the Proteas` stop-start form cannot continue as the tournament`s knockout phase looms.

At their best, de Villiers` men have looked like world beaters, becoming the first team in history to post successive one-day international totals of 400-plus in Pool B wins over the West Indies and Ireland.

But they have also been skittled out for 177 and 202 in losses to India and Pakistan respectively, reviving memories of the hated "chokers" tag that has haunted previous World Cup campaigns.

The Proteas were many pundits` tip to lift a maiden World Cup this year but their inconsistency means bookmakers are now ranking them behind co-hosts Australia and New Zealand.

With a quarter-final against a dangerous Sri Lanka appearing likely, the UAE match presents a final chance for some South African fine-tuning.

It also has the potential to provide crucial practice for seamer Vernon Philander, who has missed the past three games with a hamstring injury.

De Villiers was at a loss to explain the Pakistan defeat and said he wanted to see an improvement against the UAE.

Victory against the UAE would most likely see South Africa finish second in Pool B behind India, setting up a last eight showdown with Sri Lanka.

The amateurs of the UAE, many of them Pakistani expatriates, are winless so far in the tournament and should not present a hurdle if South Africa are anywhere near their best.

The teams have met only once before, when South Africa posted a 169-run win at the 1996 World Cup.

UAE`s best performance so far at this year`s tournament was a gutsy two-wicket loss to fellow non-Test nation Ireland and captain Mohammed Tauqir admitted he was wary of South Africa`s batting power.

Tauqir said there would be no shame in conceding 400-plus runs to a line-up that includes the likes of de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis, who are all in the top 10 run-scorers at the tournament.