Women’s T20 World Cup 2020: Semi-finals, Round-up

The first semi-final of Women’s T20 World Cup turned out to be a disappointment for all the eager fans as the encounter between India and England was washed out. Many fans wouldn’t have imagined that such a highly-anticipated thriller would get abandoned without a ball being bowled. After the match was called off, India Women cruised to the final of the tournament by the virtue of finishing at the top of their group’s points table.

According to the new regulations, a minimum of 10-overs-a-side was needed for a shortened game to take place. However, showers intervened in the encounter to such an extent that it was not possible for either team to step on to the field. Due to the virtue of rain, Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. will now lock horns with Australia in the final of the mega-event on Sunday.

Australia Women also booked a berth in the final after registering a 5-run victory (DLS method) over South Africa in the second semi-final of the tournament. After losing the toss and being put to bat first, the Aussie Women amassed a total of 134 runs on the back of skipper Meg Lanning’s impressive 49-run knock. The skipper led her side from the front and kept the scoreboard shuffling to ensure that her side posts a competitive total on the board.

South Africa failed to hunt down the revised total

The second semi-final of the day was also marred by showers as the second innings was reduced to 13 overs. Coming on to South Africa’s run-chase, the Proteas Women had the task to hunt down a target of 98 runs in their stipulated 13 overs. After cameos from the top-three batswoman– Lizelle Lee, skipper Dane van Niekerk and Sune Luus, it was Laura Wolvaardt who rose to the occasion and smashed a brilliant 41 off 27 balls to cruise her side near to the total.

However, her efforts were not enough to steer the Proteas Women to the shore as she got no support from the other end. Eventually, South Africa bowed down and could only post 92 runs on the board and tasted a narrow 5-run defeat against the defending champions. A dejected South African dugout was evident post the result while an elated Aussie camp was seen celebrating their journey to the final of the mega-event.

India and Australia will now lock horns in the much-awaited encounter– the finale– on Sunday at Melbourne Cricket Ground. ICC was lambasted by many members of the cricketing fraternity for not scheduling a reserve day for the semi-finals. However, that won’t be the case in the final as ICC has scheduled a reserved day in case the final gets washed out on Sunday. If the match gets washed out on the reserve day too, India and Australia will have to share the coveted trophy.

Brief Scores:

India Women vs England Women

Match abandoned without a ball being bowled

India qualify for the final by the virtue of finishing higher on the points table.

South Africa Women vs Australia Women

Australia: 134/5 in 20 overs (Meg Lanning 49; Nadine de Klerk 3/19)

South Africa: 92/5 in 13 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 41; Megan Schutt 2/17)

Australia Women won by 5 runs (DLS method)