ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020, Semi-Finals – Statistical Highlights

Australia and India who faced off in tournament opener will clash off yet again in the final of the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup. India got into the final by virtue of topping the Group as their semis match against England was washed out. In the other game, the hosts Australia survived rain scare to defeat South Africa and keep their title defence alive. Australia scored 48 runs in the powerplay but struggled during the middle overs due to a flurry of wickets.

Meg Lanning, who was about to change gears, restricted herself from playing shots due to the fall of wickets. She ended up scoring an unbeaten 49 as Australia finished with 134/7. Chasing a revised target of 98 in 13 overs, South Africa were three down for 24 runs in 5 overs. However, Laura Wolvaardt’s unbeaten 27-ball 41 brought back South Africa’s hopes who ended up falling six runs short of the target.

All the statistical highlights recorded during the semi-finals at the Sydney Cricket Ground:

1 – India qualified for the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time. India lost in the semi-finals on their previous three instances of finishing in the top four of a Women’s T20 CWC.

5-0 – Australia has defeated South Africa in all their five meetings in the Women’s T20 World Cup. Australia (5-1 vs West Indies), England (5-0 vs India) and New Zealand (5-0 vs Sri Lanka) are the other instances of a team winning as many as five matches against an opponent in Women’s T20 CWC. Both Australia and South Africa did not play in any Women’s T20I outside the T20 World Cup.

6 – Australia qualified to the finals of the Women’s T20 World Cup for the 6th consecutive time. They missed out on qualifying for the final only once – During the 2009 edition where they lost to New Zealand in the semi-final.

18 – Meg Lanning now has led Australia to victory in 18 matches in the Women’s T20 World Cup; the joint-most number of wins for any captain in the history of the tournament. Lanning led Australia in 23 matches and lost only five of them. Charlotte Edwards also won 18 matches as captain across 24 Women’s T20 CWC games.

1/37 – The semi-final against South Africa was Australia’s first-ever match in the Women’s T20 World Cup without Ellyse Perry in the playing XI. Perry featured in all the 36 matches of Australia in the Women’s T20 CWC prior to the semis against South Africa.

This is the longest such streak for any player across Men’s and Women’s T20 World Cups. Tillakaratne Dilshan featured in all 35 matches played by Sri Lanka in Men’s T20 CWCs thus far and his streak will officially come to an end later this year.

459 – Meg Lanning has scored 459 runs across 12 T20I knockout matches at an average of 51 with help of three fifties. No other player in Women’s cricket ever crossed 250 runs in T20I knockouts. Lanning scored 332 runs in nine T20 World Cup knockouts at an average of 47.42 with two fifties. No other player in Women’s T20 CWC managed to aggregate even 200 runs during the knockouts.

In fact, Lanning’s tally of 459 runs is highest in T20I knockouts across Men’s and Women’s cricket and the 332 runs being the highest in T20 CWC knockouts across both Men’s and Women’s. Despite missing out on a fifty by 1 run, Lanning’s two fifties in the T20 CWC knockouts and three fifties in T20I knockouts are the most for any player in the Women’s cricket.