Kolkata: It takes something special to knock the six-time champions Australia out of a T20 World Cup. For South Africa, it came in the form of a 96-run stand—the highest partnership for any wicket against Australia ever—as they beat Australia by eight wickets in the semi-finals in Dubai on Friday. Heart and soul of this emphatic victory was a 48-ball 74 from Anneke Bosch who stitched the all-important partnership with captain Laura Wolvaardt to derail Australia in their quest for the seventh T20 World Cup.
Only in January had South Africa beaten Australia for the first time in their history but you wouldn’t know that from the way they won the toss, opted to bowl before bossing the chase. Tazmin Brits scored a run-a-ball 15 but once Bosch joined Wolvaardt, South Africa quickly changed gears, adding 96 runs in just 65 balls, which considering the conditions was an exemplary feat. “I think just keep trying to push the floor and stick to what’s in your works and what works in these conditions,” said Bosch later when asked what her plan was at the outset.
Four balls inside her innings and Bosch was already finding her range, hitting Sophie Molineux for consecutive boundaries in the sixth over. Georgia Wareham’s lbw review didn’t fetch the desired result but it only made Bosch even more dangerous, picking apart the legspinner for a four and six in her next over.
Australia tried to mix up their lines but Bosch kept shuffling across the stumps to make space for her shots. She pulled, drove, punched and even dug out yorkers to ensure South Africa never conceded too many dots. Once the 100 was up in the 13th over, Australia were feeling the pressure, perhaps more because of regular captain Alyssa Healy’s absence due to an injury. It was fitting too that the winning runs came off Bosch’s bat, carting a full-toss through mid-wicket for a stirring four.
Australia can be slow starters, and this innings was no different too as they got to just 35/2 after the Powerplay. Given the run rate in the last five overs was 9.6, the finish—fuelled by some belligerent batting from Phoebe Litchfield and Ellysee Perry—too wasn’t unexpected. But South Africa disciplined bowling wasn’t giving anything away easily. Forty of the 45 dot balls coming in the first 15 overs meant Australia were under the pump rather than warming up to the slog overs.
Tahlia McGrath, Australia’s stand-in skipper, said they were 20 runs below par. “We sort of jokingly said 160-170 (as target). It wasn’t quite that kind of deck this evening. We found it quite tricky,” said McGrath. “South Africa bowled really well. They took the pace off nicely.The halfway mark there, we thought maybe 140-150 was par. Fell short.”
The consolidation too didn’t happen adequately for Australia. McGrath’s dismissal after adding 50 runs with Beth Mooney was a speedbreaker. And just when Mooney was looking good came her unfortunate run out—the bat crossed the crease but it was face up so no part of it touched the ground. For six balls Brits was probably wondering if she had ruined South Africa’s hopes after spilling an easy chance of Perry running towards mid-off. With a sharp catch on boundary rope off the last ball of the innings though, she redeemed herself while keeping South Africa’s target below the psychological mark of 140.
