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Thank you for joining me, Mohul Bhowmick and my partner Pragadeesh, for this exciting game. Until next time, goodbye!
Meg Lanning, Australia's captain: Ashleigh (Gardner) and Tahlia (McGrath) were brilliant today. I am very proud of the way the girls went about their business even under so much of pressure. The atmosphere here in this stadium was electric. We loved each and every moment of it. It's always amazing to qualify for the semifinals. We have a couple of days off, when we recharge and come back to see whom we face in the semifinals. I don't really watch a lot of cricket, but I'm sure a lot of the girls might, to see whom we come up against.
Sune Luus, South Africa's captain: At one point of time, we seemed like getting to the highest total that we have scored against Australia. Unfortunately , that was not to be. One of the major factors in cricket is to bowl dot balls and not give away too many singles. Unfortunately, we did not do that today. The opposition does not really matter. We need to be fresh and ready for our next group-stage game. We just didn't have too many runs on the board.
Tahlia McGrath (Man of the Match) - I have been a bit light on time in the middle, so was trying to go out there and play straight. It was skidding on and once I got into it, it was a nice wicket to bat on. I love to play in front of a crowd like this, there is a band playing on. A few early wickets wasn't ideal but Ash and me consolidated and I was happy about that. I love watching the top order play but it's always good to score some runs and be confident heading into the semis
Australia have now won four games on the bounce, and qualified for the semifinals of the Women's T20 World Cup! They coasted to a comfortable win over South Africa today. Mind you, it did not seem so comfortable halfway through the innings after they had lost their top three experienced batters Ellyse Perry, Meg Lanning and Beth Mooney.
However, the duo of Ashleigh Gardner and Tahlia McGrath combined and made sure that they took the game deep. The latter struck a brilliant half-century off just 29 balls and ensured that the game went in the pocket of the defending champions quite comfortably. Although they seemed on the brink of a defeat, McGrath and Gardner turned the game around for the Aussies, and ensured victory for them in the 17th over itself.
For the home country, Marizanne Kapp, medium pacer Masabata Klaas and left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba were the only wicket-takers, and they did decently for themselves. South Africa will be disappointed with the fact that although they won both the powerplays they were part of, they could not really get over the line. Australia’s McGrath, most likely to be Player of the Match, will be displeased with herself that she did not hang around to hit the winning runs.
16.3 Masabata Klaas to Grace Harris, GAME.SET.MATCH! Australia have qualified for the semis. Short of a length angling in, Harris uses the pace and pulls it powerfully past the diving deep square leg for a boundary
Grace Harris, RHB, is in at 6.
16.2 Masabata Klaas to Tahlia McGrath, OUT! McGrath looked for a glory shot but couldn't get the timing right on this occasion. Slow delivery into the surface and outside off-stump, McGrath comes down the track and skies this towards backward point. The fielder dives forward and pouches it safely. McGrath couldn't finish things in style but she played a match-winning knock.
Tahlia McGrath c Laura Wolvaardt b Masabata Klaas 57 (33b 10x4 0x6)
16.1 Masabata Klaas to Ash Gardner, slow delivery pitched up and outside off-stump, Gardner guides it to short third for a single
16.1 Masabata Klaas to Ash Gardner, WIDE! Slow back of a hand delivery going down the leg-side
Masabata Klaas [2-0-12-0] is back into the attack.
Wow, Tahlia McGrath appears to be in a rush to get back to the hotel! Australia have completely turned this game around, and will most likely win this game in the upcoming over.
16
overs
119/3score
4
4
4
0
1
1
runs
Ashleigh Gardner*
27(28)
Tahlia McGrath
57(32)
Nonkululeko Mlaba
1/29
15.6 Nonkululeko Mlaba to Ash Gardner, good length angling on off-stump, Gardner works it with soft hands to the off-side and hustles across to the other end
15.5 Nonkululeko Mlaba to Tahlia McGrath, pitched up outside off-stump, McGrath drives it down to long-off for a run
15.4 Nonkululeko Mlaba to Tahlia McGrath, pushes the length delivery down to extra cover. No run
15.3 Nonkululeko Mlaba to Tahlia McGrath, THREE IN A ROW! McGrath is in a hurry to finish this. Pitched up again and it's been crunched past extra cover for a boundary
Fifty for McGrath off just 29 balls!
15.2 Nonkululeko Mlaba to Tahlia McGrath, FOUR MORE! FIFTY FOR MCGRATH! The boundaries are coming thick and fast. Back of a length outside off-stump, McGrath punches it between backward point and cover for a boundary
15.1 Nonkululeko Mlaba to Tahlia McGrath, FOUR! That's a classy lofted drive. Pitched up outside off-stump, McGrath gives room, comes down the track and lofts it over extra cover for a boundary