Dylan Cleaver: The night the going got tough

New Zealand Black Caps bowler Trent Boult gets the wicket of South African Quinton De Kock. Photo / Brett Phibbs

This was near-death by a thousand South African cuts, and pulls, and drives. But from somewhere, heaven knows where, New Zealand found life, first through captain Brendon McCullum then remarkably, extraordinarily, through Grant Elliott.

Finding inspiration that was possibly divine, definitely sublime, Elliott swatted Dale Steyn, DALE STEYN!, over midwicket for six to win a semifinal that more than once seemed lost.

If Eden Park shook when Kane Williamson performed similar heroics in a pool game here against Australia close to a month ago, it was rocked to its foundations last night.

The crowd experienced the full gamut of emotion, from anxious expectation to desperation as South Africa's brilliant bats, led by the classy AB de Villiers, put New Zealand's world-class attack to the sword.

Then there was desolation as the target crept, seemingly inexorably, out of reach.
But New Zealand has found a team of staggering resilience.

The batsmen, as they have so often in the past 18 months, refused to wilt in the face of stacked odds. As the crowd chanted the names of Corey Anderson and Grant Elliott, who resuscitated the innings with a century partnership of real fortitude, hope remained.

After Anderson departed for a punchy 58, Elliott, South African born and raised Elliott, guided them to on a big plane to Melbourne, where either Australia or defending champions India await.

For so long it appeared hopeless.

De Villiers simply toyed with New Zealand and coerced his teammates, most notably Faf du Plessis and David Miller, into doing the same.

So what started out as a midweek party began to turn into something more like an audit.
For long-time followers of New Zealand cricket, the heightened sense of expectation has been exhilarating and, well, unnerving. It's not meant to be this way with cricket, just rugby.

The All Blacks analogy has extended to the way the public perceives this team. They've been expected to win crushingly and in style.

But unlike the All Blacks on this turf during a World Cup four years ago, they've found robust semifinal opposition.

Like the All Blacks, they found a way to win.

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