History will be created on Tuesday, irrespective of the result. One of the two greatest sides never to have played in a world cup final – South Africa and New Zealand - will break the unwanted trend at the Eden Park in Auckland. On paper, the two sides were expected to reach the semi-finals and meet each other. But the history of the tournament suggested that the Proteas were underachievers at the biggest stage, with the annoying habit of faltering in the knockouts. Luckily for them, the script has been perfect so far.

For a near-perfect team they possessed, South Africa had to deal with the issues of fifth bowler. Farhaan Behardien wasn’t good enough. Nor was Faf du Plessis, forcing skipper AB de Villiers to roll his arm over time and again to get the odd breakthrough. JP Duminy’s hat-trick solves that issue. But the small boundaries at the Eden Park can be tricky and there is a danger of proving to be too expensive