South Africa Women secured the first spot in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 final, defeating defending champions Australia by 8 wickets
South Africa Women pulled off a massive upset at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on the night of October 17, Thursday stunning the three-time defending champions Australia by 8 wickets to reach the final match of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. (More Cricket News)
This remarkable victory not only marks their back-to-back appearances in the T20 World Cup final but also ends Australia’s reign, making it the first time since the inaugural 2009 edition that they won’t compete for the title.
It was the duo of skipper Laura Wolvaardt (42 off 37) and player of the match Anneke Bosch (74 off 48) whose stellar performances powered the Proteas Women to the most important win, who are still in search of their nation's first World Cup title for either the men’s or women’s teams.
Winning the toss and choosing to field first may have seemed questionable at times for Laura, but it ultimately proved to be a brilliant decision. South Africa's bowlers restricted the six-time champions to 134/5 in 20 overs in the first innings, and then they chased down the target with ease, finishing at 135/2 in just 17.2 overs.
History truly was created in Dubai. This match marked the end of Australia Women’s streak of 15 consecutive wins in the Women’s T20 World Cup.
South Africa’s successful chase of 135 runs also set a record as the highest target they have ever chased down in T20 history.
Interestingly, the last time when Australia suffered a defeat in Women’s T20Is was also at the hands of South Africa, back in January in Canberra.
Australia were three-time defending champions and had won six t20 world cups out of eight that were held before. The other two champions were England in 2009 and West indies in 2016.
The semi-final match of the Women's T20 World Cup 2024 was a moment of revenge for South Africa as they faced off against Australia, seeking to avenge their loss in the 2023 final at home, where the Aussies claimed victory by 19 runs to secure their sixth title.
Australia: 134/5 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 44, Tahlia McGrath 27; Ayabonga Khaka 2/24).
South Africa: 135/2 in 17.2 overs (Anneke Bosch not out 74, Laura Wolvaardt 42; Annabel Sutherland 2/26).