COSTLY MISS: South African captain AB de Villiers (2nd right) reacts after a failed run out attempt on New Zealand batsman Corey Anderson during their World Cup semi-final match in Auckland yesterday. Anderson was on 33 at the time and scored a further 25 runs in a 103-run partnership with match-winner Grant Elliott. (Reuters)

By Mike Selvey at Eden Park/The Guardian

It is already being described as the most famous shot in the history of New Zealand cricket. When Grant Elliott, once a South African but now very much a Kiwi, swung his bat and planted the penultimate delivery of a pulsating game high over wide long on and into the crowd, it sent the Black Caps into a cricket World Cup final for the first time after six previous semi-final failures.
South Africa had been beaten by four wickets as New Zealand chased down what had seemed a very challenging total of 298, under the Duckworth Lewis method, in a match reduced by rain to 43 overs-a-side.
But if it was joy for the New Zealand team, the 40,000 fans packed into Eden Park, and the nation of four million, it was only despair for AB de Villiers and his team, who had hoped to throw off the tag of having never reached the final of a global competition. To come so close, was, said an emotional de Villiers afterwards, painful.
“It is a tough one being asked to describe my emotions,” he said, holding back the tears. “I felt that we left it out on the field and I can’t ask any more.
“We had our chances, especially in the second half of the game and we didn’t take them. Obviously it’s painful, so many people back home supporting us and we wanted to take the trophy home for them.
“I guess the sun will come again tomorrow. We had a lot of fun and I’m proud of the guys. We fought in every single game to the death. It is no consolation to have participated in one of the most memorable of games. It doesn’t make me feel better at all. It hurts quite a bit. I’m gutted.”
De Villiers also blamed himself for failing to run out New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson. Anderson was nowhere near the crease, but de Villiers dropped the ball and removed the bails with his hand. The Kiwi was on 33 at the time and scored a further 25 in a 103-run partnership with match-winner Elliott.
The distraught skipper, who proclaimed before the semi-final that South Africa would go on to win the World Cup, believed it was a defendable target. “I tried my best to catch it (ball) but I couldn’t. Life moves on. I didn’t take that unfortunately, but yes if you want to see it that way that I cost us then I’ll gladly take it.”
He said it was no consolation in knowing he had taken part in a classic match. “We play to win, to take glory home and make a difference in our nation’s heart and hope, and we didn’t do that. It hurts quite a bit. Gutted. We had our chances and didn’t take them.”
In the final over, the plan was for Dale Steyn to try to lure Elliott into thinking the last two balls would be yorkers but instead they would be length balls. “We were hoping he would play and miss but he played one of the best shots of his life. Probably the best,” de Villiers, who made an undefeated 65 in his team's 281-5 after the match was reduced to 43 overs-a-side,  added.
De Villiers ruled out using the rain as an excuse, despite South Africa losing seven overs when they had set themselves up for a big charge at the end of their innings.
“We had opportunities to adjust and we did and I felt it was enough. The chances we had in the second innings showed that it was enough,” he said.
“So I don’t think it (rain) played a big role in the game. We always talk about expecting the unexpected, and the unexpected happened today, and we adjusted as well as we could, and it wasn’t good enough at the end.”
For man-of-the-match Elliott, however, it was something that will take a while to sink in.
”There has been lots of talk about us making the semis and not kicking on and I know it means a lot to the team but you see from the emotions in the stands today that it means a lot to a great many people and hopefully we can repay the faith in the final too.”
He described how he felt as the ball sailed into the crowd: “I think that is the first moment to feel a release of emotion. Cricket is a game where you have to be unemotional in your approach. It was a great feeling to look at the team and the crowd, savour the moment and know we were through to the final.
“Is it the most famous shot? Maybe. I’m quite a level person and I like to stay out of the media to be honest. I guess it will sink in after the World Cup, may be look back and reassess. I guess it is my best shot. I felt the pressure. I knew it was up to me. I knew four would do it because a tie was as good as a win. I think we left the chase a little bit late to be honest, and it was stressful.
“This game is amazing, once you are in the zone you play with freedom. You just see the ball and hit it. It would have been better to have got it with an over to go, but credit to South Africa, they are a world class team with world class performers and they played a very good game as well.”