Hosts South Africa got outclassed in every department of the game by defending champions Australia in their group clash on February 18 at St George's Park, Gqeberha. Tahlia McGrath's 57-run knock helped Australia chase down the below par 125-run target with ease as they won by six wickets with 21 balls to spare.
How South Africa can still qualify
The comprehensive loss has put South Africa’s semifinal qualification chances in jeopardy. They have lost two out of their three games and are placed third in Group A. South Africa need New Zealand to beat Sri Lanka in their encounter on February 19. Also in their last league match, South Africa need to beat Bangladesh to qualify for the last four. However, if Sri Lanka beat New Zealand, South Africa will be knocked out of the semifinal race.
South Africa started off their campaign poorly as they lost the game by just three runs in run chase of 130. They followed it up with a dominating win over New Zealand. South Africa bowlers were on fire as they bundled out New Zealand for paltry 67 and won the game by 65 runs to boost their net run rate which will come in handy even if the White Ferns beat Sri Lanka by a big margin.
No acceleration
South Africa got off to a decent start despite Laura Wolvaardt struggling to rotate strike early on. Tazmin Brits scored a handy 35-ball 45 but after her wicket South Africa failed to accelerate. They lost wickets at regular intervals and failed to put up a big total on the board.
McGrath’s dominance
Marizanne Kapp's two early strikes in the form of openers Beth Mooney and Ellyse Perry kept South Africa in the game. However, McGrath dominated the bowling attack and scored 57 runs from just 33 balls to take the game away from the hosts. Ashleigh Gardner remained unbeaten for 28 off 29 deliveries as Australia continued their unbeaten run at the group stage.
Luus explains batting struggle
“We just lost wickets consecutively which put us on the back foot. They have a deep batting order. We used Kapp in the first six overs. But unfortunately didn't have enough runs on the board. We never had lack of trying. The dots created pressure when we were batting. It was emotional today. I had goosebumps. The support has been incredibly humbling. We still have one game. It is not ideal to rely on other teams. But we will try our best,” South Africa skipper Sune Luus said in the post-match presentation.