Proteas Women beat India, set for semi-final against England

After the sixth World Cup match for the Proteas Women was rained out on Thursday, the team had already done enough to progress to the crucial knockout stage of the competition.

It remained to be seen who South Africa’s opponent would be in the semis, but that has now been confirmed as England, and there is no doubt that real belief has grown throughout the competition about the team’s ability to go all the way in the competition after the Proteas Women suffered just the solitary defeat against Australia.

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A solitary point was enough for the Proteas Women to progress

The South African women’s cricket side faced massive pressure as they took on India in their final group stage match on Sunday, 27 March, but made sure they will head into the semi-finals on a high note.

Although India scored a competitive 274/7, two wickets each to Shabnim Ismail and Masabat Klaas kept South Africa very much in the game.

A superb score of 80 from Laura Wolvaardt, as well as a match-winning unbeaten half century from Mignon du Preez led South Africa to another morale-boosting victory, with Lara Goodall also chipping in with a crucial 49.

In a dramatic final over, Du Preez looked to have been dismissed when she was caught on the boundary, but it turned out to be a no-ball, and she returned to the crease to hit the winning runs.

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Sune Luus’ team were always set to finish second in the standings – win or lose – against their Indian opponents.

In contrast, India still had plenty to play for and could have jumped to third with a victory, thus setting up a semi-final against South Africa. However, they have now been eliminated.

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