Tahlia McGrath's 57 from 33 balls helped Australia secure a six-wicket win over hosts South Africa to finish top of Group One; watch every game of the Women's T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports Cricket
Sunday 19 February 2023 02:20, UK
Tahlia McGrath led the way as Australia clinched a place in the semi-finals at the Women's T20 World Cup with a six-wicket win over South Africa.
The defending champions and top-ranked team in the tournament were impressive again, comfortably chasing down the tournament host's 124-6 and finishing on 125-4 with more than three overs to spare.
That was on the back of McGrath's quickfire 57 from 33 balls and the result ensured their progress to the knock-out stages as Group One runners-up with four wins from four.
Australia were without injured opening batter and wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy but that made no difference to the performance.
Middle-order batter McGrath thumped 10 fours in her half-century as the Australians raced to victory and were confirmed as the Group One winner.
Australia made the most of the decision to field first, with opener Tazmin Brits the only player to make a significant score for South Africa with 45 from 36 balls, including six fours and one side.
Georgia Wareham was the pick of Australia's bowlers with 2-18 from three overs, while Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown, Ellyse Parry and Ashleigh Gardner all picked up one wicket apiece.
Two wickets from Marizanne Kapp helped check Australia's progress early in their reply, but McGrath steered them towards victory before eventually falling to Masbata Klaas.
However, she went with her team needing just four runs for victory and they comfortably reach the target with 21 balls to spare, as well as leaving South Africa needing results to go in their favour to stand a chance of joining them in the semis.
Australia captain Meg Lanning said: "We've got through the group stages, which is the first step and very important, and then we go from there. It's exciting to be able to play in the semi-finals and it's always an amazing part of the World Cup."
South Africa captain Sune Luus said: "We still have one game and we're still going to give it our all. It's not ideal to rely on other teams, but I guess that's the World Cup and why we love it. We're certainly going to leave everything on the field."
Australia must now wait for the conclusion of Group Two to find out who their opponents will be in the first semi-final on Thursday. South Africa now need Sri Lanka to lose to New Zealand and then beat Bangladesh in their final group match on Tuesday to stand any chance of qualifying.
