The ICC T20 Women’s World Cup has reached its final stage and the Proteas women will be on a mission to cause an upset and make history by becoming the first South African senior national team to win a cricket World Cup.
This after the Momentum Proteas booked themselves a spot in the final after edging past tournament favourites England by six runs in a thrilling semifinal at Newlands Cricket Ground on Friday afternoon. The South Africans will face Australia in the finals this afternoon after the Aussies defeated India in the last four stage. The match will take place at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town.
The South Africans were limited to 164 runs, as England were in the driving seat heading into the second phase of the game.
Fast bowler Ayabonga Khaka displayed a player-of-the-match performance when she bowled what might go down as the over of the tournament, after picking up three wickets to restore the hope and record her World Cup best of 4-29. Another highlight of the match was the stunning one-hand catch by Tazmin Britz to dismiss Alice Capsey – which is arguably the catch of the tournament. Brits was also good with the bat, smashing 68 runs off 55 balls.
The host nation started their World Cup campaign on the back foot when they were stunned by Sri Lanka in their opening encounter, succumbing to a disappointing narrow three-runs defeat. However, coach Hilton Moreeng and her charges redeemed themselves against New Zealand after easing past them by 65 runs. All-rounder Chloe Tyron was the star of the match when she displayed a
solid performance with her stroke-play and power hitting.
Their victory was followed by another defeat to champions Australia when they met in the group stage, who outclassed them and won the game by six wickets with 21 balls to spare.
The Proteas bounced back and beat Bangladesh by 10-wickets in what was a must-win final group stage match for both sides.
Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits showed class with the bat to inspire the important victory with their unbeaten half-centuries. South Africa has a tough task at hand and will be looking for their revenge as they go toe-to-toe with the Australians today.
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