South African team had sneaked into the semifinal qualification on a superior run rate in Group B.

The Proteas in the first semifinals beat the tournament favourite and the best team in the world, Australia.

Six-time winners Australia suffered a shocking semi-final exit from the T20 World Cup as South Africa raced to an impressive eight-wicket win in Dubai.

The Proteas team reached their winning score with 16 balls to spare.

With regular skipper Alyssa Healy out with an injury, Talia MacGrath led the Aussie team to their semifinal clash against the Proteas.

Batting first in a sticky wicket, the Aussies lost two quick wickets at the top and were not able to give the usual quick start they are accustomed to.

With Grace Harris and Georgia Wareham dismissed, it was the ever-reliable, Beth Mooney who steadied the ship for the Aussies with a fighting 44 runs (42).

With some impressive bowling spells from the Proteas, the pressure was kept on the Aussie batting lineup, and even with the Tahlia MacGrath – Beth Mooney partnership, the run rate was going at a snail’s pace.

Only some late order burst from veteran Ellse Perry (31) and youngster Phoebe Litchfield (16) saw the struggling Australian score reach to 134.

Did Australia misread the pitch or misjudge their run-scoring rate?

Aussies only had themselves to blame as they struggled in the middle overs and couldn’t keep pushing the flow of runs.

A score of 134 in an all-important semifinal clash though below par was still a decent enough score for an Aussie team to defend.

There was a sense of calm in the Australian dressing room and the confidence to defend the small total as Proteas have been vulnerable in big match chases in the past.

The Proteas Chase

Having watched the Proteas bat on such occasions in the past, it was surprising to see an ultra-aggressive approach by the Proteas with the bat.

The Proteas girls kept their foot on the acceleration padel from the word go.

The opening partnership between captain Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits gave a steady and important start for the chase.

With 43 on the board, the proteas lost Tazmin Brits.

After the loss of their first wicket, Anneke Bosch who had struggled in the tournament so far joined her captain in the middle. With 25 being her highest score in the tournament, Anneka was desperate for a good show.

Australian girls would have sensed an opening after the fall of the first wicket but what followed was a match-winning partnership between Laura Wolvaardt and Anneke Bosh.

The phenomenal run chase with Anneke Bosch hitting a sensational unbeaten 74 (48) and with Laura Wolvaardt 42 (37) made up for a 96-run partnership that completely shattered any Aussie comeback in the game.

Wolvaardt later described her team’s victory as “one of our biggest wins ever”.

Bosch hit eight fours and a six in her match-winning effort.

Even with her string of low scores, the selectors had faith in Anneke who kept her at number three for this all-important clash.

Anneke Bosch score of 74 is the highest individual score of the tournament so far.

Thanks to the 96-run partnership, the Proteas’ biggest match-winner, Marizanne Kapp was not even required to bat.  Such was the ease in the end.

Alyssa Healy not opening the innings clearly hurt the Aussies and were not with their usual swagger which was expected from the six-time winners of this tournament.

Aussie miscalculated their batting run rate and their low strike rate could have been avoided with some of their big hitters in the dugout yet to come to bat

As mentioned earlier, Proteas came out to bat with an ultra-aggressive mindset. This could be due to a change in their mindset under their new captain Laura Wolvaardt.

Even with the target in sight, batters maintained their aggressive approach and kept up the momentum.

The confidence in winning against the mighty Aussies will help the Proteas in the Finals. This will be a golden opportunity for them to lift their maiden World Cup trophy.

None of the three big teams, Australia, England or India will be in the finals of the tournament. This is a refreshing change in the Women’s game.

South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt: “It is right up there with one of our biggest wins ever, the biggest win of my career for sure. It’s been such a good year for us and a real collective group effort.

“Anneke [Bosch] batted superbly and played her role perfectly, she played one of the best innings of her career.”

Australia stand-in captain Tahlia McGrath: “It’s pretty hard to take. We didn’t show up tonight, you can’t afford to do that in tournaments like this. Credit to South Africa.

“We’ve had this World Cup in our minds for a long time now, we were really well prepped, just didn’t show up on the night.”

Australia and defending champions missed out on their eighth final appearance and South Africans reached their second successive final after the 2023 edition on home soil.

The second semi-final will take place between New Zealand and West Indies at Sharjah today.

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