Alana King put on a show and a masterclass of leg spin bowling as her 7-wicket haul in the middle overs destroyed South Africa totally. The Proteas got off to a decent start but fell flat after the first 10 overs as Alana King ran through South Africa with a bowling spell for ages. Laura Wolvaardt made 31 while Sinalo Jafta made 29, but the rest fell away and they were bowled out for 97 with King picking up 7 wickets with the others picking one each.
Australia strike twice to dent South Africa in the powerplay.
Put into bat first, captain Laura Wolvaardt came out to bat with Tazmin Brits while Megan Schutt had ball in hand for Australia. Schutt started with a maiden over. Kim Garth came onto bowl from the other end. Wolvaardt managed to get a boundary as she pressed forward and crunched the drive through the covers for a boundary. Wolvaardt then took the attack to Schutt by hitting her for back-to-back boundaries through deep square leg and cover point fence. Wovaardt managed to get a streaky boundary past the stumps to the fine leg fence.
Wolvaardt then slashed Scutt between point and backward point for a boundary. Garth bowled another maiden over. Schutt bowled another tight over. Wolvaardt took the attack to Garth by punching off the back foot to deep backward point for a boundary. She was on a roll as she again hit Garth again by slicing it towards deep backward point for a boundary. Schutt drew first blood as she removed Wolvaardt for 31 off 26 balls with 7 fours to her name.
Megan bowled a good length delivery swinging on the middle and leg stump line which was a leg cutter. The ball held on the surface a tad as Wolvaardt closed the bat face a tad early and looked to work in the leg side but got hit high on the bat. The ball lobbed to short midwicket where King took a good low catch. Sune Luus came out to bat next and got off the mark with a boundary through a thick outside edge past the legs of the keeper for a boundary. Kim Garth continued as Brits used her wrists as she closed the bat face and flicked it to deep midwicket for a boundary. Schutt continued and bowled a maiden over.
Garth continued as she got rid of Tazmin Brits for 6 off 19 balls with one boundary to her name. Garth bowled back of a length delivery that pitched outside off and nipped back into the batter. The ball kept a tad low as well. Brits bent her back knee and slog swept it but missed it as the ball hit the thigh pad. The ball tracking shoed three reds and Brits had to walk back into the hut and they burnt a review as well.
Annerie Derecksen came out to bat next and survived the over as Garth bowled a wicket maiden over as the first powerplay ended with South Africa at 42/2 in 10 overs after the first powerplay.
Alana King runs through South Africa as they get bowled out for 97 in 24 overs.
Annabel Sutherland came into the attack after the powerplay. Sutherland started with a quiet over. Alana King was introduced into the attack as she struck straightaway getting rid of Luus for 6 off 15 balls with a boundary to her name. King bowled a flighted delivery fuller and leg break at the off-stump line. There was some extra bounce on offer as Luus got down on one knee for a slog sweep against the turn and ended up getting a thick top edge. The ball ballooned up towards mid-and Sutherland back pedalled and took the catch easily. Marizanne Kapp came out to bat next.
King had two in the over as she removed Kapp for a duck. King bowled a flighted delivery fuller and outside the off-stump. The batter bent her back knee and threw her bat at it. She aimed to thump it over the infield but ended up slicing it straight to backward point. Sinalo Jafta came out to bat next. Sutherland continued after the break as Derecksen got off the mark with a smash flat down the ground for a boundary. King continued as another run out chance ensued at mid-off was missed by the field. Sutherland continued as Jafta opened her bat face and guided it past vacant deep backward point region for a boundary.
Jafta took the attack to Sutherland and hit her for back-to-back boundaries. King continued and got rid of Derecksen fort 5 off 19 balls with one four to her name. King bowled full and tossed up at the leg stump which was a leg break. Dereecksen looked to whip away across the line but played all around it. She got beaten on the inside edge as the ball cannoned into the leg stump. Chloe Tryon came to bat next. Drinks was taken after which King got Tryon for a golden duck.
King bowled full and tossed up down the leg which was a leg break. Tryon looked to flick but failed to keep it down and ended up chipping a straight catch to Gardner at short midwicket who made no mistake. Nadine de Klerk came out to bat as King’s hat-trick ball was negotiated very well as de Klerk got a boundary to vacant backward point region.
Ashleigh Gardner came into the attack as it was a welcome with a boundary from Jafta. Gardner bowled from over the wicket a length ball wide of off-stump. Jafta went deep in her crease and went for the cut shot. She got an outside edge that ran away to the short third man fence. Jafta once again hit Gardner for a boundary through short midwicket by getting down on one knee. Jafta took the attack to King as well by hitting her for consecutive boundaries first straight down the ground and then reverse swept past first slip for a boundary.
King bounced back and got rid of Jafta for 29 off 17 balls with 7 fours to her name. King bowled full and tossed up around off-stump. Jafta got down on one knee for the slog sweep across the line but missed and the ball cannoned into the off-stump. King completed a fifer. Masabata Klaas came out to bat next. Gardner bowled a quiet over. King was wreaking havoc as she now dismissed Klaas for 4 off 11 balls.
King bowled a length delivery on off-stump that turned away a fraction. Klaas hung back and looked to work it on the leg side but closed the bat face too early. She got beaten on the inside edge and the ball crashed the off-stump. Ayabonga Khaka came out to bat next as South Africa were reduced to 88/8 in 20 overs. Gardner bowled another miserly over. King kept things tight. Gardner continued as Nadine de Klerk got down on one knee and swept it fine to beat short fine leg for a boundary. Gardner got into the act as she dismissed Khaka for a duck.
Gardner bowled a full length outside off-stump that turned in sharply at pace. Khaka got forward and looked to defend on the front foot but got beaten on the outside edge. The ball hit right between off and middle stump. Nonkululeko Mlaba came out to bat next. King finished things off in style as she got her 7th wicket dismissing Nadine for 14 off 23 balls with 2 fours to her name.
King bowled a length ball on middle and leg stump line leg break. The ball turned away and beat the outside edge of Nadine’s bat who hung back and looked to defend. The ball missed the outer half of her blade and hit the top of off-stump. South Africa were bowled out for 97 in 24 overs with Mlaba unbeaten on 1 off 4 balls. Just one extra given by Australia.
Alana King was the star of the show as she finished with magical figures of 7/18 in 7 overs. Megan Schutt finished with 1/21 in 5 overs. Kim Garth finished with 1/21 in 5 overs. Ashleigh Gardner finished with 1/19 in 4 overs. Annabel Sutherland finished with 0/18 in 3 overs. Australia now needed a mere 98 runs to win this match to finish top of the points table.
Who’s Winning, Australia or South Africa?
Well, this score is nowhere near enough. A disappointing batting performance by South Africa while a magical spell by Australia means they should chase this down and finish top of the table which will mean a semi-final clash with India awaits them. Can South Africa do a miracle? Only time will tell.
Also Read: ICC Women’s ODI WC 2025: India Booked Their Spot In Semis After Impressive Win.