BRISTOL — South Africa kept their Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final hopes burning bright on Thursday with a commanding 88-run victory over the Netherlands, spearheaded by a historic maiden T20I century from Tazmin Brits.
Sent in to bat first, the Proteas Women unleashed a relentless assault to post 208-1, their highest-ever score in a Women’s T20 World Cup, eclipsing the 195-3 they tallied against Thailand in 2020.
Brits was the undisputed star of the show. The opening batter anchored the innings with a blistering, unbeaten 114 off just 69 deliveries. Smashing 15 fours and three sixes, Brits recorded the second-highest individual score in the tournament’s history, sitting only behind Meg Lanning’s 126 in 2014. During the masterclass, she also crossed the 2,000-run milestone in T20 internationals.
Captain Laura Wolvaardt provided a sturdy foundation, partnering with Brits for a 100-run opening stand in just 12 overs before falling for a quickfire 45 (36 balls) to Hannah Landheer. Annerie Dercksen then seamlessly picked up the tempo, crushing an unbeaten 37 off 16 balls to close out the innings.
Facing a mountain of 209, the Dutch reply stuttered despite a resilient opening stand of 58 between Phebe Molkenboer (41 off 41 balls) and Sanya Khurana (36).
Once Chloe Tryon broke the partnership, the Proteas’ bowling attack tightened its grip. Shabnim Ismail claimed her 48th Women’s T20 World Cup wicket by dismissing Sterre Kalis, drawing level with Australia’s Megan Schutt as the tournament’s all-time leading wicket-taker.
The Netherlands’ lower order collapsed under pressure, losing their final five wickets for just 10 runs. Seamer Ayabonga Khaka delivered the final blow, tearing through the tail to take three wickets in the 20th over and finish with superb figures of 3-19.
The Group 1 Semi-Final Scenario
With only the top two teams from Group 1 advancing to the semi-finals, the race will go down to the final day of group stage action this Sunday at Lord’s.
Current Standings (Top 3):
Team | Points | Net Run Rate (NRR) |
1. Australia | 8 | +4.724 |
2. India | 6 | +2.268 |
3. South Africa | 6 | +0.734 |
Both South Africa and India currently sit on six points. However, India holds second place due to a significantly superior Net Run Rate. Here is what South Africa needs to happen on Sunday to advance:
- The Best-Case Scenario: South Africa must beat Bangladesh in their final match to move to eight points. They then need Australia to defeat India. If India loses, they remain on six points, allowing the Proteas to safely claim the second semi-final spot.
- The Run-Rate Shootout: If both South Africa (vs. Bangladesh) and India (vs. Australia) win on Sunday, both teams will finish on eight points. The tiebreaker will be Net Run Rate. Because India currently has a massive NRR advantage (+2.268 to SA’s +0.734), South Africa would need to obliterate Bangladesh by a colossal margin, and hope India only barely scrapes past Australia, to flip the NRR in their favor.
- Elimination: If South Africa loses to Bangladesh, they will remain on six points and will almost certainly be eliminated, as they cannot mathematically catch Australia, and their run rate is too far behind India’s.
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