South Africa captain Faf du Plessis believes Australia’s World Cup confidence is akin to an “extra player” even though he did more than most to ensure the holders entered the semi-finals on the back of a defeat.
Du Plessis hit 100 in a total of 325-6 that proved just enough to give the Proteas a 10-run win over Australia.
Saturday’s success came after South Africa’s own hopes of a last-four place had long since disappeared.
Australia have won the World Cup a record five times and du Plessis said that history of success made them strong contenders to go all the way to the final at Lord’s on July 14.
“I think Australia and India have proven it time and time again,” said du Plessis after producing South Africa’s first and only century of this World Cup.
“They are teams that win big games. It’s hard to look past Australia and the success they’ve had in winning World Cups, as much as we would like to say we want to compete with that.
“The confidence that an Australian team comes into a World Cup with is just like an extra player on your team.”
Du Plessis, asked to name the winner of this World Cup, replied: “They (Australia) would probably prefer playing against New Zealand, but I would say one of Australia or India.”
Meanwhile, Rassie van der Dussen relished batting against Australia's full-strength attack in South Africa's best performance of the World Cup.
In his first meeting against Aaron Finch's team, the 30-year-old scored a career-best 95 runs off 136 balls and shared in a 151-run third-wicket stand with captain Faf du Plessis.
"Any World Cup game is a high-pressure environment and I felt I did fairly okay. Luckily today's innings contributed to a match-winning cause."