Courtesy: ICC
On Thursday, October 17, South Africa defeated Australia by nine wickets in the first semi-final of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, to reach the final of the prestigious ICC tournament in the back-to-back editions. At the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt and Anneke Bosch put together a match-defining stand of 96 runs in pursuit of the 135-run target, to play a key role in dumping the reigning three-time champions Australia out of the tournament.
After winning the toss, Laura Wolvaardt, the captain of South Africa, decided to field first, and it paid instant dividends as her bowlers sent Grace Harris and Georgia Wareham back to the pavilion for single digit scores inside the power play. Following that, Beth Mooney (44 off 42) and captain Tahlia McGrath (27 off 33) got a partnership of 50 runs for the third wicket, but they took 55 balls to complete it, which meant that Australia were behind in the contest somewhat.
The arrival of Ellyse Perry led to some impetus in the Australian innings, scoring unbeaten 31 off 23, playing a key role alongside Phoebe Litchfield (16* off 9) in taking her team up to 134/5 in their allotted overs. For South Africa, Ayabonga Khaka registered figures of 2/24 in her four-over spell, while Marizanne Kapp and Nonkululeko Mlaba also picked up a wicket each.
In the run chase, Tazmin Brits and captain Laura Wolvaardt came out with a positive mindset against the Australian bowlers before the former was dismissed for 15 off 15 with her team’s score reading 25/1 in 4.1 overs. After that, Laura Wolvaardt was joined by Anneke Bosch, and both the South African batters took the attack to the opposition, building an 96-run stand in just 65 balls, to put their team on the brink of a famous win.
After Laura Wolvaardt was dismissed for 42 off 37, Anneke Bosch stayed unbeaten till the end to ensure that South Africa got over the finishing line with her 74 off 48, which included eight fours and one maximum. With that, South Africa also took a semblance of revenge against Australia after they lost the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 versus them by 19 runs at home.
