It was the recap of the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final which was played between Australia and South Africa as the two sides met on Thursday in Dubai to play the first semi-final of this edition.
South Africa took a sweet revenge as they romped to an eight-wicket win over the defending champions, chasing 135 with as many as 16 balls to spare. With that victory, the Proteas opened their account in the head-to-head battle against Australia in T20 World Cups.
Prior to this match, Australia dominated with a 7-0 margin. Coincidentally, South Africa was the last side to beat Australia in women’s T20Is, when they beat them in Canberra in January. Since then, Australia had been on an 11-match winning streak and again it was South Africa who put a full stop to Australia’s winning spree.
HISTORY!!! 😍
South Africa beat Australia for the first time in a T20 World Cup to qualify for the title clash. 👏 #CricketTwitter #T20WorldCup #AUSvSA pic.twitter.com/ogTh8CcGfx
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 17, 2024
Winning the toss and electing to bowl first, South African bowlers did a fantastic job in restricting the power-packed Australian batting order to 134 in 20 overs. In the absence of regular captain and opener Alyssa Healy, who missed her second straight match in this T20 World Cup, vice-captain Tahlia McGrath led the side, and Grace Harris took the role of an opener as they did in the previous match against India.
Apart from the lone 50-run partnership that was stitched by McGrath and opener Beth Mooney, Australia was plagued by the loss of wickets at regular intervals. The South African bowlers bowled well as a unit, and they hunted in pairs to keep the Aussies on a tight leash. Speedster Ayabonga Khaka was the pick of the bowlers scalping two wickets. She was well-supported by fellow seamer Marianne Kapp and spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba, who picked one wicket apiece.
South Africa rewrites history at Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. 🥶#CricketTwitter #T20WorldCup #AUSvSA pic.twitter.com/cT8w5mFvhV
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 17, 2024
In response, South African batters rose to the occasion as they made light work of the run chase overhauling the target in 17.2 overs. Despite losing opener Tazmin Brits inside the powerplay, captain Laura Wolvaardt and Anneke Bosch put their heads down to steer their side home. Bosch took the attack to the opposition with a blistering 74 not out, not allowing the Australian bowlers to make any inroads. Besides medium pacer Annabel Sutherland, who snapped two scalps, none of the Australian bowlers managed to pick wickets.
History rewritten at the Dubai International Stadium.#CricketTwitter #T20WorldCup #AUSvSA via: @_hypocaust pic.twitter.com/IAxoIrQqxD
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 17, 2024
Australia who were looking to win their fourth straight T20 World Cup title were knocked out by South Africa. Interestingly, the last time Australia were eyeing this feat (four-peat) was in 2016, but their World Cup winning dream was shattered by the then champions West Indies. On the other hand, South Africa will be excited to feature in their second consecutive final of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup and a one better finish following going down to Australia on home soil last year.
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