Australia shocked in World Cup semis by South Africa

Women's T20 World Cup, Dubai

Australia 134-5 (20 overs): Mooney 44 (42); Khaka 2-24

South Africa 135-2 (17.2 overs): Bosch 74* (48), Wolvaardt 42 (37); Sutherland 2-26

South Africa won by 8 wickets

Scorecard.

Australia suffered a daze semi-final exit from the T20 World Cup arsenic South Africa raced to an emphatic nine-wicket triumph successful Dubai.

The defending champions missed retired connected an eighth last quality arsenic the Proteas reached to their people of 135 with 16 balls to spare.

Anneke Bosch struck a sensational unbeaten 74 from 48 balls portion skipper Laura Wolvaardt added a classy 42 successful a second-wicket concern of 96 that near Australia reeling.

The epic tally pursuit came aft South Africa's bowlers had smartly restricted Australia to 134-5 successful a curiously underwhelming innings.

Grace Harris and Georgia Wareham fell aboriginal successful the powerplay earlier opener Beth Mooney dropped anchor with 44 from 42 balls.

But they paid the terms for stuttering successful the mediate overs, with the run-rate seldom creeping implicit a run-a-ball arsenic skipper Tahlia McGrath trudged to 27 from 33.

Ellyse Perry's 31 from 23 and Phoebe Litchfield's nine-ball 16 added a precocious burst but the full inactive felt below-par connected a transportation that favoured chasing, arsenic West Indies proved against England connected Wednesday.

South Africa started the pursuit confidently with a powerplay of 43-1, comfortably up of Australia's 35-2 astatine the aforesaid stage, earlier Tazmin Brits' departure for 15 kickstarted the phenomenal partnership.

Bosch, whose erstwhile precocious people successful the tourney was 25, crunched 8 fours and a six successful her match-winning effort which rewarded the religion of the South Africa selectors who kept her spot astatine fig 3 successful the line-up, and saw them scope their 2nd successive last aft the 2023 variation connected location soil.

After being enactment successful to bat, Australia did not transportation the accustomed swagger and assurance that you would expect to travel with being six-time winners of this tournament.

In fact, they were timid, lone hitting 11 boundaries successful total. That is contempt the enviable batting extent that they person which often results successful them playing with overmuch much state than different teams who thin to beryllium protecting fragile, inexperienced mediate orders.

Harris and Wareham's aboriginal departures did not consciousness catastrophic with the likes of Perry, Litchfield, McGrath and Ash Gardner to travel - but with each implicit that passed by without an acceleration, determination was a consciousness that specified a kickstart would ne'er appear.

In the end, being 5 wickets down felt similar a large discarded with the destructive Gardner and Annabel Sutherland near waiting successful the dugout.

And they were punished for specified caution arsenic South Africa's innings was a implicit contradiction.

Wolvaardt timed the shot beautifully from the outset with her trademark exquisite screen drives but Bosch's sound was a spectacle.

Against England successful the radical stage, the 31-year-old stuttered to 18 from 26 balls and did not look the portion astatine three, but against the world's formidable force, she struck the shot with specified clarity and powerfulness successful a mode that we person yet seen successful this tournament.

It is the highest idiosyncratic people truthful far, and for that to beryllium delivered nether the astir unit and against specified a high-quality hostile was astonishing - and the easiness of South Africa's triumph was specified that adjacent Marizanne Kapp was not required to bat.

Australia did not bash excessively overmuch incorrect with the shot arsenic Bosch did not adjacent connection a chance, but they volition rue their deficiency of ambition with the bat arsenic they allowed South Africa to instrumentality 1 measurement person to their archetypal planetary title.