The ICC T20 Women’s World Cup is in full swing as the Momentum Proteas gear up for a tough encounter against reigning champions Australia at the St George’s Park Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday night (7pm).
South Africa come back from a comfortable win against New Zealand when they beat them by 65 runs on Tuesday. The Momentum Proteas scored 132/6 after 20 overs, while their opponents failed to register 100 runs on the scoreboard for the second consecutive match and were bowled out for 67 runs after 18.1 overs.
The host nation began their World Cup campaign on the backfoot when they were shell-shocked by Sri Lanka in their opening match, succumbing to a narrow three-runs defeat last week Friday. However, they redeemed themselves in their second Group A clash, when they thumped the White Ferns.
Coach Hitlon Moreeng will be relying heavily on vice-captain Chloe Tyron, as the all-rounder has been one of the standout performers with her hard hitting in a determined Proteas side, alongside spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba, who is currently the leading wicket taker with three wickets.
Skipper Sune Luus also showed glimpses of her quality batting in their previous outing, with the stand-in captain seemingly feeding off the pressure of filling in the shoes of regular captain Dane van Niekerk, who was ruled out of the tournament after picking up an ankle injury.
The Momentum Proteas face-off against a strong Australian team that is yet to taste defeat in the tournament so far.
They eased past the New Zealanders in their opening match, thrashing them by 97 runs. The victory was followed by a win against Bangladesh, where they came out top by eight wickets. They then beat Sri Lanka on Thursday and won by 10 wickets.
Moreeng and his charges will be on a mission to cause an upset and increase their chances of reaching the semi-final stage, but will first have to go past a ruthless Australian side.
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