By Razeen Gutta
South Africa made the semi-finals of the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup in dramatic fashion, following West Indies’ win over England on Tuesday. And now, Australia awaits them in the last four.
The race to qualification was out of their hands as the Proteas women watched group favourites England take on Australia.
A win for the leaders would have secured second place for South Africa while a narrow win for the West Indies would have seen the Proteas crash out.
What eventually unfolded turned out to be the shock of the tournament.
West Indies last beat England away from home a decade ago. They had not beaten them anywhere in 13 attempts on the spin. But now, with a semi-final spot on the line, the women from the Caribbean turned up in style.
Chasing 142, the Windies got to the target for the loss of just four wickets and with two overs to spare, sending England’s run rate below South Africa’s and eliminating them from the tournament.
The result leaves South Africa in second place, with Australia awaiting them in Dubai on Thursday.
The Aussies were the villains for the women in green at last year’s edition of the competition, where South Africa were defeated in the final.
This time around, with another final in their sights, the Proteas will hope to put their bad record against the girls from Down Under behind them.
South Africa have only won one out of 10 T20s against Australia, with that win coming in Canberra earlier this year.
Now, as they embark on their rematch from last year’s final, they will look to earn their first ever women’s World Cup win over Australia. The action gets underway on Thursday at 4pm, live on SuperSport.
Pictured above: South Africa women’s team.
Source: @t20worldcup
