Women's T20 World Cup 2024: Australia eliminated as South Africa stun them in the 1st semi-final

Women's T20 World Cup 2024: Australia eliminated as South Africa stun them in the 1st semi-final: South Africa secured an easy victory in the 1st semi-final of the Women's T20 World Cup 2024 versus Australia at the Cricket Stadium of Dubai on Thursday, 17th of October.

Winning the match by a margin of eight-wickets, the Proteas have eliminated the seven-time champions from the competition and have qualified for the final of the tournament.

Kicking off their run-chase of 135 runs, the Laura Wolvaardt-led outfit steered their way towards victory with 16 deliveries and eight wickets in hand.

Opening batter Tazmin Bates (15 runs in 15 balls) was the 1st Proteas batter to get dismissed by the Mighty Australians as her stumps were cleaned up by Annabel Sutherland in the fifth over.

Skipper Wolvaardt led the chase from-the-front as the 25-year-old played a good knock of 42 runs in 37 deliveries which consisted of one maximum and three fours. Despite playing a captain?s knock for South Africa, she too got dismissed in the 15th over but by the time she got out, the match had been sealed by the South Africans.

Interestingly, both of the Protean opening batters fell prey to the bowling brilliance of Annabel Sutherland (2-26).

However, experienced batter Anneke Bosch (74 runs in 48 balls) turned out to be the guiding light for the Laura Wolvaardt-led team as her crucial knock helped her side get over the line.

Earlier in the match, the Australians had posted a decent total of 134 runs on the board.

The Laura Wolvaardt-led outfit had won the toss and asked Alyssa Healy & Co to have a bat first but the the defending-champions got off to a really poor start as opener Grace Harris was sent back to the pavilion by Ayabonga Kha ka, providing an early advantage to the Proteas.

Experienced batter Beth Mooney, however, remained at the crease for a long time and tried to stitch partnerships with the likes of Tahlia McGrath (27 runs in 33 deliveries) and Georgia Wareham (5 runs in 9 deliveries). But, the 30-year-old wasn't able to form a big partnership with either of the players.

The Gujarat Giants captain soon found some support from another experienced batter Ellyse Perry and the two brought some stability to the falling-apart Australian team.

They stitched a partnership of 31 runs in 28 deliveries for the 4th wicket but their stand didn't last for a long time as Marizanme Kapp ran out Mooney (44 runs in 42 balls).

Following the dismissal of Mooney, Phoebe Litchfield joined Perry in the middle and the two battled their way till the end with Perry getting dismissed on the final delivery of the Australian inning as the seven-time winners posted a score of 134-5 on the board.

Talking about the bowling performance of the Proteas, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka and Mlaba picked up one-wicket each.

Scorecard: ESPNcricinfo

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