ENG-W vs SA-W

They say that a hero is not the one who never falls, but the one who keeps getting up. That seems to be the motto Laura Wolvaardt and co. live by. They begun their campaign with a 69 all out, almost fluffed it against underdogs Bangladesh and then, got bundled out for 97 in their last league game. Yet, they kept bouncing back every time and now find themselves only win away from becoming the World Champions.

While England will be disappointed tonight, given the year they had coming into this marquee tournament, they can be pretty proud of how they went about their business.

We hope you enjoyed our coverage of this match. It was the commentary duo of Sourabh and Darpan bringing you the updates. Do join us tomorrow for the second semifinal, where the hosts lock horns with the defending champions. India vs Australia, in the company of Team Sportskeeda! Goodbye for now.

Let's here from Laura Wolvaardt again. She says, "Very special. Really excited. Having lost to this team in the semis of the last two editions and then, in the league stage too, really hurt. The 69 did come to our minds a little bit. But we turned up alright. It was a pretty flat wicket. I was not sure that we got enough runs. But our bowlers did well. It was a game of partnerships. Tazmin Brits and I started off really well. Then, I had a bit of a dip, but Kappy (Marizanne Kapp) took the pressure off me. I did not expect them to be 1/3. But Kappy was amazing. She has been finding her way a bit in this tournament. But tonight she was special. But they still had quality batters to follow. When Nat was out there, we knew anything could have happened. We have played some special cricket over the last month. (On the final) Whether its India or world champs Australia, it will be a great game either way. 

Nat Sciver-Brunt (England Women Captain): "Incredible two innings from South Africa. We were not at our best today and to beat the top teams, you've got to put in a full game together. Just disappointed, will take a bit of time to sink it. Definitely (felt we were back after picking 3 wickets in the middle). We didn't get the game get too far during the powerplay and even after with spin keeping it tight but then they had another partnership. She (Wolvaardt) had the best of the conditions and knew what she was doing. Some explosive batters coming up next but think we held our own in the field and did not let the occasion get to us. But as I said, you have to put an entire innings together. Kappy (Kapp) bowled some brilliant deliveries. We wanted to emulate the start they had with the bat but it was not easy to do what Wolvaardt did. The way Capsey and me put together a partnership showed that it can be done but we were way off. We've come a long way since the summer, we have learned a lot about ourselves. This will really hurt but this team can go a long distance. To beat the best teams, you have to be at your best."

Laura Wolvaardt has been awarded as the Player Of The Match for her stunning innings of 169 off 143, here are her words: Still feels a bit unreal (on what she has achieved today). It is that sort of a thing that you dream about as a kid, that too in a knockout. I'm so glad we got the win. We knew the start was going to be crucial. Taz (Brits) and I have been strong at the top and it feeds off, we pretty much figured out it was a flat wicket. It was an important partnership and then with a few others. We saw how flat this wicket was. Sort of went with the flow, my goal today was to bat till the 40th over and set it up for the likes of Dercksen, Tryon, de Klerk to go big. Then when I was there, I thought might as well go for it myself. Would rank right up there (on asked to rank her knock in her career). Looking at the context of the game, World Cup SF and winning a game against such a strong team with such a strong bowling line-up. Right up there."

9:33 PM: South Africa win by 125 runs and for the first time, qualify for the final of the ICC Women's ODI World Cup.

Laura Wolvaardt 169 (143) | Marizanne Kapp 42 (33) & 5/20 (7)
Natalie Sciver-Brunt 64 (60) & 1/67 (8) | Sophie Ecclestone 4/44 (10)

South Africa have scripted a fairytale of resilience in this World Cup. More than once in this tournament, they have fallen flat on their face. But each time, they have gotten up, dusted themselves off and fought back. Remember, they were bundled out for a paltry 97 in the last match. Today, they were up against the team that had  not only defeated them in the semifinals of the 2017 and the 2022 World Cup, but also mauled them in their opening game this year. And against what history or form suggested, they have come out iridescent, handing the four time champions a thrashing.

The captain led the way. Laura Wolvaardt lit up the afternoon with a myriad of those sumptuous shots that you associate with her. As fans of quality batting salivated, Wolvaardt unfurled one high-quality shot after the other and ended up scoring a mammoth 169 — an innings that the witnesses will be narrating the tales of for years to come. That exquisite knock, a sturdy 45 from Tazmin Brits and some sprightly contributions from Marizanne Kapp and Chloe Tryon helped SA put on a massive score of 319/7 in 50 overs — precisely what they would have wanted after winning the toss and deciding to bat first. Sophie Ecclestone was the only shining light for England in the first innings.

Then, it took merely 7 balls to break the back of the England batting. Kapp went through the defences of Amy Jones, got Heather Knight to chop it back onto the stumps and Ayabonga Khaka got the wicket of Tammy Beaumont with her very first ball to render them 1/3 in 1.1 overs. Natalie Sciver-Brunt and Alice Capsey did put up a fight as they stabilised the innings with a fighting 107-run partnership, but once that stand was broken, it all came crashing down. Kapp returned to pick-up 3 more wickets in her second spell, including the one of the England skipper with an absolute jaffa', effectively landing the knockout punch.

The tail did show some resistance and Linsey Smith in particular made a case for a promotion in the batting order. However, they were just delaying the inevitable.

42.3 Nadine de Klerk to Linsey Smith, HISTROY FOR SOUTH AFRICA, they have broken the curse of the semis and now have sealed their places for the first time ever in an ODI WC final. Emotions flowing through the players, they cannot believe what they have just achieved but they indeed have outplayed their bogey team. It is a third time lucky for the Proteas who get over England finally the third consecutive time of asking in the semi finals.

It was a slower delivery that sealed the deal, full and spinning away from off, sliced by Smith and Luus running to her right at mid-off hung on to a lovely catch to cap off a remarkable victory for the rainbow nation who have carved their own niche here in Guwahati.

41.6 Chloe Tryon to Lauren Bell, FOUR, Bell certainly not doing herself any harm here. Gets a tossed one up at the stumps, makes a bit of room and slaps that past the bowler, gets enough to beat a backtracking de Klerk from mid-on

England survive another over. Frustration will rise with every over that this pair plays out. Even though, they just seem to be delaying the inevitable.