Clinical South Africa stuns Australia to secure a spot in the World Cup final

In January, South Africa made history by defeating Australia for the first time ever. Despite this remarkable achievement, their performance on the field during the match showed a sense of confidence and skill. They won the toss and chose to bowl first, showcasing their determination to dominate the game. Tazmin Brits started off with a steady run-a-ball 15, but it was when Bosch joined forces with Wolvaardt that South Africa really took control. The pair added 96 runs in just 65 balls, a commendable achievement considering the challenging conditions. Bosch attributed their success to their strategy of sticking to what worked for them in those conditions. "I think the key is to keep pushing ourselves and sticking to our game plan that works in these conditions," said Bosch in post-match comments. Their cohesive teamwork and adaptability ultimately led to a convincing victory over their formidable opponents.

Four balls inside her innings and Bosch was already finding her range, hitting Sophie Molineux for consecutive boundaries in the sixth over. Georgia Wareham’s lbw review didn’t fetch the desired result but it only made Bosch even more dangerous, picking apart the legspinner for a four and six in her next over.

Australia tried to mix up their lines but Bosch kept shuffling across the stumps to make space for her shots. She pulled, drove, punched and even dug out yorkers to ensure South Africa never conceded too many dots. Once the 100 was up in the 13th over, Australia were feeling the pressure, perhaps more because of regular captain Alyssa Healy’s absence due to an injury. It was fitting too that the winning runs came off Bosch’s bat, carting a full-toss through mid-wicket for a stirring four.

Australia can be slow starters, and this innings was no different too as they got to just 35/2 after the Powerplay. Given the run rate in the last five overs was 9.6, the finish—fuelled by some belligerent batting from Phoebe Litchfield and Ellysee Perry—too wasn’t unexpected. But South Africa disciplined bowling wasn’t giving anything away easily. Forty of the 45 dot balls coming in the first 15 overs meant Australia were under the pump rather than warming up to the slog overs.

Tahlia McGrath, Australia’s stand-in skipper, said they were 20 runs below par. “We sort of jokingly said 160-170 (as target). It wasn’t quite that kind of deck this evening. We found it quite tricky,” said McGrath. “South Africa bowled really well. They took the pace off nicely.The halfway mark there, we thought maybe 140-150 was par. Fell short.”

The consolidation too didn’t happen adequately for Australia. McGrath’s dismissal after adding 50 runs with Beth Mooney was a speedbreaker. And just when Mooney was looking good came her unfortunate run out—the bat crossed the crease but it was face up so no part of it touched the ground. For six balls Brits was probably wondering if she had ruined South Africa’s hopes after spilling an easy chance of Perry running towards mid-off. With a sharp catch on boundary rope off the last ball of the innings though, she redeemed herself while keeping South Africa’s target below the psychological mark of 140.