New Zealand Deserved to Reach World Cup Final: AB de Villiers

Crestfallen South African skipper AB de Villiers admitted on Tuesday that New Zealand were the better team and deservedly won the first semifinal, knocking his team out of the World Cup by four wickets in a thrilling match. (Full World Cup Coverage)

New Zealand successfully chased down a target of 298 runs in 43 overs, with a ball to spare, in a rain-curtailed match at the Eden Park here on Tuesday. (Elliott Dedicates Semifinal Win to Kiwi Fans)

New Zealand's win extended South Africa's misery in the mega event as they have never entered the final of the competition despite being regularly billed as one of the favourites. (McCullum Hails New Zealand's Semifinal Win as 'Greatest Moment')

"It was an amazing game of cricket. I guess the better team has come out on top. I couldn't have asked for anything more from our boys. It will take a while to get over this. We gave it our best, it's hurting quite a bit," de Villiers said at the post-match presentation ceremony. (Elliott, Take a Bow: Pietersen)

"We played to make a difference, I hope the people back home will still be proud of us."

Chasing a revised target of 298 from 43 over as determined by the Duckworth-Lewis system, New Zealand got over the line primarily due to the efforts of middle-order batsman Grant Elliot (84 not out) who smashed Dale Steyn into the stands to seal the victory.

The 31-year-old South African skipper also said the World Cup has been a wonderful journey where some of their players performed brilliantly to take them this far and wished luck to the teams that would eventually battle it out for the trophy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 29.

"There have been (some) great performances. I felt we had a wonderful thing going. I don't want to single out any individual performances as we were like a unit but we didn't just get stuck on Tuesday," concluded De Villiers.