Twitter Reactions: Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits help South Africa seal semi-final spot
Wolvaardt and Brits shared an unbeaten 117-run opening partnership to take South Africa to a 10-wicket victory.
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After thrashing Bangladesh by 10 wickets in their penultimate game in the group stage on Tuesday, February 21, Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits produced unbeaten half-centuries to hand South Africa a semi-final berth at the Women's T20 World Cup 2023. Bangladesh, who had already been eliminated, could only manage 113/6 from their 20 overs. In reply, South African openers took the hosts to a victory and they will now face Group B toppers England in the knockout game.
Bangladesh were unable to take full advantage of the powerplay after choosing to bat. Opening batter Murshida Khatun was the first one to walk back to the pavilion. After being unable to get run off the first five deliveries that she faced, the pressure forced her to go for an uppish shot, but she mistimed it and Nadine de Klerk took the catch brilliantly as Murshida walked back for a six-ball duck.
Shamima Sultana too lost her wicket before the end of the powerplay when Shabnim Ismail dismissed her for a 16-ball 11. It was then the little 33-run partnership between Sobhana Mostary and skipper Nigar Sultana that kept Bangladesh’s scorecard ticking, but the batters failed to create an impact against the hosts.
Bangladesh kept losing wickets at regular intervals, and as a result, finished at 113/6 despite substantial assistance from the hosts in the form of misfields and missed opportunities. Ayabonga Khaka and Marizanne Kapp emerged as the top bowlers for the hosts as they registered figures of 2/21 and 2/17 in their four overs spell.
Slow and Steady win the race for South Africa
South African openers Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits got off to a sluggish start in the powerplay, but they managed to put runs on the board and hold their places on the crease. They put up 43 runs in the first 10 overs and took the game slowly and brought up a century partnership in the 17th over of the game.
While Laura finished scoring a 56-ball 66*, Tazmin scored 51* off 50, and the half-centuries by the duo guided South Africa to a 10-wicket victory. The win did not just hand them two points, which led to a tie with New Zealand and Sri Lanka, but also bolstered their net run rate, taking them to the second position on the points table, above the White Ferns, the Lankans, and Bangladesh, as the hosts found their place in the semi-final.
Here's how Twitter reacted:
Well done @ProteasWomenCSA ,great way to spend a Tuesday night at Newlands. Semi Finals loading… 🔥🏏
— Wayne Parnell (@WayneParnell) February 21, 2023
Our Protea Women’s team💪bring on the semis!!!
— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) February 21, 2023
Nervy powerplay that. Best part of it was not losing a wkt, somehow. #SAvsBang #WT20WorldCup
— Ashwell Prince (@ashyp_5) February 21, 2023
🚨 RESULT | SOUTH AFRICA WIN BY 10 WICKETS
— Proteas Women (@ProteasWomenCSA) February 21, 2023
The opening pair of Laura Wolvaardt (66*) and Tazmin Brits (50*) took it upon themselves to knock off the target with 13 balls to spare and secure our spot in the #T20WorldCup semi-final#SAvBAN #MyHero #AlwaysRising pic.twitter.com/SSAEA3jdII
South Africa are through to the semi-finals 🙌#SAvBAN | #T20WorldCup | #TurnItUp pic.twitter.com/glAy6hxQDf
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) February 21, 2023
Stunning comeback from South Africa in this Women's #T20WorldCup. Turning around a shock loss in the opener against Sri Lanka to making the semi-final of a home T20 World Cup is quite the effort. Well done! Now to take it a notch above. #SAvBAN https://t.co/qadfKfI3eV
— S. Sudarshanan (@Sudarshanan7) February 21, 2023
Well done the Proteas. Up and up you go. Now the semis baby #SAvBAN
— Natasha Martin (@tubby508) February 21, 2023
This is the first time Bangladesh lost a women's T20I match by 10 wickets margin.#SAvBAN
— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) February 21, 2023
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