South Africa defeated England by 6 runs and for the first time made its place in the final of any World Cup where it will face Australia.
Image Credit source: AFP
Cape Town: Many World Cups have passed, many semi-finals have passed but South Africa Breaking down under pressure in those semi-finals was a habit. There was another such semi-final in Cape Town on Friday, but this time the team did not break under pressure, rather it broke the chain and came back despite difficult circumstances and not only made a tremendous comeback, but also won a thrilling victory. The South Africa women’s cricket team defeated England by 6 wickets in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2023 at their home and made it to the final for the first time and among the many reasons for this were the 3 overs that turned the match, which took place on 26 February. Fixed a date with Australia in the final.
In this match held at Newlands Park Stadium on 24 February, South Africa batted first and scored a strong score of 164 runs losing 4 wickets. In response to this, England also got a tremendous start. Sophia Dunkley and Danny Wyatt together scored 53 runs in 5 overs. South Africa was under pressure and looking for wickets.
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Rein in the sixth over
Be it the men’s team or the women’s team, it was a habit to see South Africa disintegrating in such situations in the last several knockout matches, but this time it did not happen. It started in the sixth over. Shabnim Ismail, the most experienced and fastest bowler of the team was on the bowling. This dashing pacer took the wicket of Dunkley, who was doing explosive batting, on the very first ball.
It was enough to give relief, but he did not only give relief to the team, but also put England in trouble as another wicket was found on the third ball itself. This time Tajmin Brits returned Alice Capsey to the pavilion by catching a surprising catch with one hand.
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back again in 17th
This was the first over which brought South Africa back into the match. Although even after this, Danny Wyatt scored some runs. Then there was a tremendous partnership between captain Heather Knight and star all-rounder Nate Siver Brunt and England again had a hold on the match. England were only 33 runs away and 23 balls were left. That’s why amazing happened in the 17th over. This time Nadine D’Clark got Nate Siver caught at the boundary and broke this dangerous partnership.
Game over in 18th
The pan was still heavy for England as the captain was at the crease and along with a batsman like Amy Jones but South Africa was in no mood to give up this time. In the 18th over, pacer Ayabonga Khaka ruined England’s condition by taking 3 wickets and almost ensured the team’s victory. Khaka walked Jones, Sophie Eccleston and Katherine Siever-Brunt and in the last over, Shabnim Ismail gave the team victory by saving 13 runs needed for victory.
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