Prolific opener David Warner smashed a brilliant 122 but could not claim victory for Australia as they slipped to a 10-run defeat to South Africa in their Cricket World Cup clash at Old Trafford on Saturday, leaving them facing a semi-final against England.

The result allowed India to take over at the top of the round-robin table at the end of the first stage, meaning Australia will battle the host nation at Edgbaston on Thursday, while the Indians meet New Zealand at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Already-eliminated South Africa chose to bat and a century from captain Faf du Plessis took them to 325 for six in their 50 overs, a total boosted by Rassie van der Dussen’s well-constructed 95.

Australia were in trouble early in their innings and a hamstring injury to number three batsman Usman Khawaja saw him retire hurt, and put the rest of his tournament in jeopardy, but they rallied magnificently before being bowled out for 315 with one ball remaining. (Reuters, Manchester)

South Africa post mammoth 325 for six

South Africa have posted a mammoth 325 for six in the last group stage match of the World Cup against top placed Australia at Old Trafford in Manchester today.

After a 79-run opening stand between Aiden Markram adn Quinton de Kock, South Africa went onto post a mammoth total on the board, courtesy of a brilliant century from skipper Faf du Plessis and a valiant 97-ball 95 from Van der Dussen. Du Plessis was dismissed in the 43rd over after scoring a 94-ball 100. However, Dussen was denied a century when the right-hander was dismissed by Australia quick Pat Cummins in the very last delivery of South Africa's innings

Markram falls after a solid start by South Africa

South Africa got a brilliant start in the last group stage game of the World Cup against Australia at Old Trafford in Manchester today.

The two openers -- Aiden markram and Quinton de Kock -- provided a solid start for the Proteas after having elected to bat first. The duo strung together a 79-run opening stand before Markram fell prey to Nathan Lyon after scoring 34 off 37 in the 12th over. De Kock remains unbeaten on 41 with skipper Faf du Plessis on seven at the other end.

SA win toss and choose to bat against Aus

South Africa have won the toss and decided to bat against Australia in the last group fixture of the World Cup at Old Trafford today.

A win would put Australia on top of the table, ensuring them a semifinal against Trans-Tamman rivals New Zealand. A defeat for them, together with a win for India today against Sri Lanka, would see them finish second, setting up an Australia-England battle.

South Africa, on the other hand, would be looking to end their miserable campaign on a high, and a handsome win today might see them overtake Bangladesh in seventh position. 

Australia are unchanged while South Africa make a forced change, with wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi replacing Hashim Amla.

Playing XIs:

Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch(c), Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon

South Africa: Quinton de Kock(w), Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Jean-Paul Duminy, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi

Rain becomes the spoilsport during the second game of the 3-match ODI series between India and Bangladesh at Mirpur Stadium today.

It began with a steady drizzle and later came down in buckets to stop Bangladesh's ascendancy in the match which can decide the fate of this series.

Bangladesh lead the series 1-0. A win today will give them their first ODI series victory over India as well as tenth home win on the trot.

Just after Bangladesh's newest bowling sensation Mustafizur Rahman picked up his second five-for in his second ODI match, rain forced the players off the field.

Bangladesh were tightening the screws on India with timely breakthroughs and disciplined bowling from both ends.

Mustazifur became the second bowler in cricketing history to take five-fors in his first two ODIs. His bowling figures read 9.5 overs, five wickets for 43 runs.

India were reeling after the left-handed pacer wrecked their batting lineup, with the visitors looking down the barrel at 196 for 8 after 43.5 overs before rain came to their rescue.

It was a period during the match when Bangladesh ended Dhoni-Raina resistance and were about to polish off the tail when seasonal showers interrupted the match.

India were in the middle of a collapse from 5/163 to 8/184 when rain was felt in the air at Mirpur. With Jadeja and Kumar trying to push India's total past 200, umpires decided the weather was too inclement for the game to continue.

Nasir Hossain was the surprise package in terms of Bangladesh's bowling today. He picked up two crucial wickets by giving away only 33 runs in 10 overs as a part-time bowler.

India's opener Shikhar Dhawan was the highest scorer for his team in this match. He scored 53 runs before being dismissed by Nasir Hossain.

Bangladesh qualify for the Champions Trophy if they win today's match.

The umpire who awarded England six runs from a freak overthrow in the last over of the World Cup final has admitted he made an "error" and should have given one run fewer, a report said Sunday.

A throw to the stumps deflected off the bat of a diving Ben Stokes as he tried to complete a second run and raced to the boundary, with Sri Lankan umpire Kumar Dharmasena awarding six. Three balls later the scores at 50 overs were tied as England reached 241 all out replying to New Zealand's 241-8. It took the nail-biting final to a Super Over which again was tied but England lifted the trophy by virtue of having scored more boundaries. 

Critics, including former leading umpire Simon Taufel, said England should have been awarded five runs, not six, as the batsmen had not crossed for the second run at the moment the ball was thrown.

Former Sri Lankan Test player Dharmasena told the Sunday Times he did not have the benefit of television replays which showed the batsmen had not crossed.

"I agree that there was an error of judgement when I see it on TV replays now," Dharmasena, who was umpiring the final with South Africa's Marais Erasmus, told the local Sunday Times. "But we did not have the luxury of TV replays at the ground and I do not regret the decision I made."

Dharmasena said he signalled six after consulting the other match officials. "So, I did consult the leg umpire (Erasmus) through the communication system which is heard by all other umpires and the match referee," he told the newspaper.

"While they cannot check TV replays, they all confirmed that the batsmen have completed the second run. This is when I made my decision."

Taufel had told Fox Sports Australia the umpires made a "clear mistake" as the batsmen had not crossed for their second run.

But the Australian also defended the match umpires, who he said had to make a complicated judgement, and said it would be "unfair" to say the decision altered the outcome of the tournament as it was impossible to now what would have happened in the final balls had five been awarded.

Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza’s leadership qualities came to the fore from last November, and saw his team win 10 matches at home on the trot either side of a successful World Cup campaign.

Mashrafe uses his cricketing brain to stay a step ahead of the game, reading the situation correctly more often than not.

As Bangladesh’s ODI captain, Mashrafe played 21 matches so far. He won 15 games and lost 6. His winning percentage of 71.42 is the best among all former Bangladeshi captains.

During the second game against India, Mashrafe took a gamble and bowled Nasir Hossain as an attacking off-spinner. The move paid off brilliantly.

Nasir took the crucial wickets of Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli in his opening spell and gave away only 33 runs in ten, tight overs.

Mashrafe was aware of India’s recent problems with off-spinners, particularly against Moeen Ali in England and Nathan Lyon in Australia.

"Actually before the India series I saw a statistic that in the last year they have been weak against offspinners," Mashrafe said.

"They have given most of their wicket to offspinners. So from that aspect, I think Nasir is one of the best offspinners for Bangladesh in ODIs. I had only one offspinner in my hand and I wanted to use him." Bangladesh skipper added.

Bangladesh allrounder Nasir Hossain speaks to the press. File Photo: STAR

Mashrafe said that contributing with the ball has helped Nasir build his confidence as a batsman too.

"Even in the World Cup he bowled well and I like that he believes that he can bowl 10 overs.”

“At this moment I believe that he is doing well with the bat. In the last match he came down the track and hit a six. That is good intent," Mashrafe said to the press.

Under Mashrafe’s leadership, Bangladesh has been playing a fearless brand of cricket of late and can fight back even when the chips are down.

Whenever India seemed to have the upper hand during the two games of the series, Bangladesh found a way to counter their threat and be on top.

"I think the boys are playing fearless cricket," Mashrafe said.

"This is the significant change. The boys are not scared to play shots. They are not scared to put the slips on so I think that sort of cricket has changed. Cricket is all about mind games. I think we are all playing good cricket at the moment, especially with our head in the right place."

India saved the ignominy of Banglawash on June 24, 2015 when they defeated Bangladesh by 77 runs in the third and final game of the 3-match series today at Mirpur.

Bangladesh however won the series 2-1, after emphatic wins in the first two games of the series. It was their first bilateral series victory over India.

Mashrafe Mortaza expected rain to interfere in this match and decided to bowl first after winning the toss. Unfortunately for him, rain did not play any part in today’s match.

India exploited the batting conditions at Mirpur and posted 317 in 50 overs after losing six wickets.

Shikhar Dhawan was the highest scorer with 75 runs. Skipper MS Dhoni chipped in with 69 runs late in the innings.

Mashrafe picked three wickets when India were batting but gave away 76 runs in 10 overs.

Sabbir Rahman was the top-scorer for Bangladesh with 43 runs. Soumya Sarkar also contributed with 40 runs top of the order.

Suresh Raina was the surprise package in terms of his bowling, having picked up three wickets for 45 runs in eight overs.

Earlier, Mustafizur Rahman was the last man to be dismissed for Bangladesh when he was leg-before-wicket to Ambati Rayudu for nine runs.

Tigers pacer Rubel Hossain lasted only six balls and got out going for the big shot against the part-time spin of Suresh Raina.

Raina picked up his third wicket of the game when he sent back Rubel for 2.

Bangladesh lost their last recognized batsman in Nasir Hossain in the 40th over when he took one risk too many.

Nasir tried to chip his shot over midwicket but only managed to get a leading edge and was caught by Rayudu at cover.

Tigers’ allrounder scored 32 from 30 balls and struck three boundaries in his valiant knock.

Mashrafe was the seventh wicket to fall for Bangladesh as played eight dot balls and got out swinging from the hip.

Ashwin’s slow off-break defeated Mashrafe in flight, went through the gap between bat and pad and crashed on to the stumps.

When Bangladesh seemed to claw back in the match on Sabbir’s cameo, Stuart Binny of India bowled the batsman with a beautiful in-swinging delivery.

Sabbir Rahman took on the Indian bowlers and scored 43 good runs from 38 balls. He smashed six boundaries before returning to the pavilion.

Shakib Al Hasan threw his wicket away in a moment of madness as he tried to slog-sweep Raina out of the Mirpur Stadium.

The ball stopped on Shakib, and he only managed to get a top-edge for a running catch at long-on. Shakib scored 20 runs from 21 balls with two hits to the fence.

Bangladesh had lost half their side for 148 runs at this stage of the game.

Litton Das fell after getting a start and unfortunately, at the worst possible time for his team after losing Mushfiqur few overs ago.

A lazy shot from Litton cost him his wicket as he missed a straighter one for Axar Patel and got bowled all ends up.

Litton scored 34 runs from 50 balls with three 4s in his innings.

The 50-run partnership for the third wicket between Litton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim placed Bangladesh in a descent position before Suresh Raina broke the stand.

Raina pushed one through and induced Mushfiqur to go for the cut. Mushy obliged, misread the length and got a thick edge to the keeper Dhoni.

Mushfiqur faced 30 ball for his 24 runs and struck a six in his knock.

Soumya’s brisk cameo came to an end when went after a slower ball from Kulkarni and gave a catch to R Ashwin at mid-on.

The Bangladeshi opener blazed away from ball one, smashed 40 runs from 34 balls. He picked up five fours and two sixes during his knock.

The second wicket partnership between Soumya and Litton yielded 54 runs for Tigers.

Tamim Iqbal was the first Bangladeshi batsman out when he was found in front of the wickets to an angled delivery from Dhawal Kulkarni.

Bowled around the stumps, short of a length, the ball seamed back and went in with the angle to strike Tamim in front of middle. Tamim scored 5 runs before being dismissed.

During the first half of the game, India posted a mammoth total of 317 runs after losing six wickets in 50 overs.

Half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and MS Dhoni with a handy cameo from Suresh Raina gave India a total to challenge Bangladesh in the 3rd and final ODI of the series.

Mustafizur equaled the most wickets taken in a 3-match ODI series when he beat Suresh Raina all ends up to hit the stumps.

Mustafizur picked up 13 wickets, on par with Ryan Harris of Australia who picked up 13 against Pakistan in 2010.

Raina played a timely cameo, and helped India cross 300 with some big hitting.

The Chennai Superkings superstar smashed 38 runs from 21 balls (3 4s, 3 6s).

Mustafizur Rahman held on to a difficult catch in the outfield to give Mashrafe his third wicket of the contest.

More importantly, Mashrafe sent back Indian captain MS Dhoni when he looking to break free and score quick runs.

Dhoni held the Indian innings together with solid batting and occasional risk-taking during his stay at the crease.

He top-scored with 69 runs from 77 balls, with six 4s and a massive six to his name.

Mashrafe Mortaza captured his second wicket of the day when India’s Ambati Rayudu was caught behind for 44 runs.

Rayudu contributed considerably in the 93-run partnership with his captain MS Dhoni, played 49 balls in his innings and struck three boundaries as well.

Indian captain MS Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu kept the ones and twos going regularly while dispatching the odd loose ball to the boundary.

They brought up the their 50-run partnership in the 38 th over of the match.

Bangladesh captain struck against the run of play when he captured the prized wicket of Shikhar Dhawan after the Indian opener looked good for a huge score.

Nasir Hossain pulled off a stunning catch at midwicket when he plucked the ball from thin air, similar to his Rahane catch in the first game.

Shikhar had batted for 73 balls, scored 75 runs with ten boundaries to his name. He kept the score-board moving at a rapid pace for India.

Shakib Al Hasan broke the Dhawan-Kohli resistance when Virat’s slog sweep failed to connect the ball while his furniture was disturbed.

The Indian partnership yielded 75 runs, and consolidated the innings after the fall of the first wicket.

Virat Kohli scored 25 from 35 balls, with a solitary boundary during his stay at the crease.

Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli settled down after the early bite of the new ball disappeared, and played risk-free cricket to bring up their 50-stand for the 2nd wicket.

Mustafizur Rahman was the first bowler to strike when he dismissed Rohit Sharma after the opener had settled down at the crease.

Rohit scored 29 runs from 29 balls, with two 4s and a huge six in his knock.

Bangladesh’s newest bowling sensation kept the ball up most of the time and induced the Indian opener to play a loose stroke to a wide, length ball.

Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were watchful to begin with, while the muggy conditions at Mirpur looked relatively ideal for swing bowling.

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza was a touch too short for his liking, while Mustafizur Rahman was impeccable with his line and length.

Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza won the toss and decided to bowl first in the third game of the 3-match series against India at Mirpur Stadium.

Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza decides to bowl first after winning the toss with good chances of rain in the evening in the 3rd game of the series against India at Mirpur. Photo: STAR

Bangladesh Squad

Mashrafe Mortaza (Captain), Shakib Al Hasan, Arafat Sunny, Jubair Hossain, Litton Das (Wicketkeeper), Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (Wicketkeeper), Mustafizur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Rony Talukdar, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal and Taskin Ahmed

India Squad

MS Dhoni (Captain, Wicketkeeper), R Ashwin, STR Binny, S Dhawan, RA Jadeja, V Kohli, DS Kulkarni, B Kumar, AR Patel, AM Rahane, SK Raina, AT Rayudu, MM Sharma, RG Sharma and UT Yadav