As South Africa inched closer to a historic victory at the Dubai International Stadium, it just made one wonder how many days have gone by since Australia lost a knockout game at the T20 World Cup. 3,119 days. Yes, 3119 days ago, Australia had slipped to an eight-wicket loss versus the West Indies, in the summit clash of the 2016 World Cup. That little bit of information tells us why this was an epoch-making eight-wicket victory for South Africa.
As soon as Anneke Bosch (74) hit the winning runs, Chloe Tryon punched the air in delight and hugged her batting partner. The victory also erased some bad memories from last year’s final, where South Africa had succumbed to a defeat in their own backyard.
It is true that Laura Wolvaardt, the fulcrum of the South African line-up, and Bosch were the mainstays of their chase. However, the foundation stone of their win was laid by the bowlers. Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka and Chloe Tryon combined to give away just 73 runs off 12 overs. Nonkululeko Mlaba, the cany left-arm spinner, also provided the trio with support as Australia were restricted to 134.
To make it even better, South Africa’s fielders showed enough intensity in the field. The fielders inside the ring were always moving in before the ball was released, with an intention to save runs. Tamzin Brits did fluff a chance in the slog overs, but she also pouched a sharp catch off the last ball of Australia’s innings to dislodge Ellyse Perry.
The batters then built on the good work by calmly chasing down the total. In the first couple of overs, Australia kept a lid on the scoring rate, with South Africa accumulating only four runs. At the right juncture, Brits crunched a couple of boundaries. She also thumped Ashleigh Gardner beyond the boundary rope. Australia tried to find another opening, with Brits being cleaned up by Annabel Sutherland.
Once again South Africa were able to negate the threat and keep the required run-rate under check. Bosch, who has had an issue or two versus left-arm spin, swept and danced down the deck to collect two boundaries off Sophie Molineux. Laura Wolvaardt matched her stroke-play by thumping Darcie Brown, Australia’s fastest bowler, over mid-on for a six.
It was in the 12th over when Bosch cut loose, smashing Georgia Wareham for 10 runs over two deliveries. A six off Wareham capsulised Bosch’s power-hitting as she cleared the boundary rope easily. In the very next over bowled by Gardner, Bosch hit top gear, bringing the equation down to just 27 off seven overs.
At that moment, just a glance at the South African dug-out was enough to observe a few smiling faces. Meanwhile, there were quite a few glum faces in the Australian camp. Although Wolvaardt was dismissed in the 15th over, it was too little too late for Australia. Somewhere, the South African coaching staff too deserves plaudits. They opted to bowl and it worked. Perhaps it was based on how it seemed to get easier for batting when the West Indies hunted down the target at the same ground versus England.
The field placings too were on the money. For instance, Tryon mostly bowled from round the wicket to Beth Mooney, with the mid-on up in the circle. It was an attempt to entice her to smash the spinner over mid-on. It almost gave them dividends. More importantly, the South African batters, especially Wolvaardt and Bosch never pressed the panic button. The think-tank would have played their part in ensuring there is a sense of calmness in the dressing room.
Brief scores: Australia 134/5 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 44; Ayabonga Khaka 2-24) lost to South Africa 135/2 in 17.2 overs (Anneke Bosch 74*, Laura Wolvaardt 42; Annabel Sutherland 2-26) by eight wickets.