Elliott's winning six, off injured South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn, took New Zealand into the World Cup final for the first time and they will play the winner of Thursday's second semi, between Australia and India in Sydney, in Sunday's showpiece match in Melbourne.
New Zealand faced a revised target of 298 under the Duckworth/Lewis method after South Africa made 281 for five in 43 overs.
Johannesburg-born Grant Elliott's 84 not out, capped with a stunning six off the penultimate ball, New Zealand to a four-wicket win over South Africa in a cliffhanger World Cup semi-final at Auckland's Eden Park on Tuesday. Then came a valuable 103-run partnership between Elliott and Corey Anderson and New Zealand appeared to have the game in hand with six overs to go.
Morne Morkel regained the initiative for South Africa by taking a wicket and conceding only one run in the 38th over and by the start of the 43rd - and final - over New Zealand required 12 to win. They started with a bye, a single, a four to Daniel Vettori, another bye and then Elliott smacked Steyn high into the stands as New Zealand, after losing all six of their previous World Cup semi-finals, completed a thrilling win.
CANBERRA: South Africa buried a hapless Ireland under a mountain of runs as Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis smashed centuries in Proteas' comprehensive 201 run win in a Pool B match of the cricket World Cup on Tuesday.
Amla's attacking 128-ball 159 and du Plessis' 109 off as many balls powered South Africa to a mammoth 411 for four, the second highest score in the World Cup.
India's 413 for five against Bermuda in the 2007 edition remains the highest score.
The two batsmen put up an impressive 247-run partnership for the second wicket as Amla hit 16 fours and four sixes, while du Plessis struck 10 boundaries and a six. David Miller and Rilee Rossouw went hammer and tongs as South Africa scored 230 in the last 20 overs, leaving the Irish bowlers bruised and battered. The last 8.3 overs fetched 110 runs.
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