Twitter Reactions: Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits help South Africa seal semi-final spot

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 17^th 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: