South Africa stuns defending champ Australia in semis
The defending champion missed out on an eighth final appearance as the Proteas reached to their target of 135 with 16 balls to spare.
Rithiga S
South Africa women's team (IANS)
DUBAI: Australia suffered a shock semi-final exit from the T20 World Cup as South Africa raced to an emphatic eight-wicket win in Dubai.
The defending champion missed out on an eighth final appearance as the Proteas reached to their target of 135 with 16 balls to spare.
Anneke Bosch struck a sensational unbeaten 74 from 48 balls while captain Laura Wolvaardt added a classy 42 in a second-wicket partnership of 96 that left Australia reeling.
The epic run chase came after South Africa’s bowlers had smartly restricted Australia to 134-5 in a curiously underwhelming innings.
Grace Harris and Georgia Wareham fell early in the powerplay before opener Beth Mooney dropped anchor with 44 from 42 balls.
But they paid the price for stuttering in the middle overs, with the run-rate rarely creeping over a run-a-ball as captain Tahlia McGrath trudged to 27 from 33.
Ellyse Perry’s 31 from 23 and Phoebe Litchfield’s nine-ball 16 added a late burst but the total still felt below-par on a pitch that favoured chasing, as West Indies proved against England on Wednesday.
Brief scores: Australia 134/5 in 20 overs (B Mooney 44) lost to South Africa 135/2 in 17.2 overs (A Bosch 74*, L Wolvaardt 42)
