Semi-finalists line up decided for 2020 ICC Women’s World T20

After the final group B match between South Africa and West Indies was abandoned due to persistent rain at the Sydney Showground Stadium, Sydney on Tuesday, South Africa finished top of Pool B with 7 points from 4 games.

The semi-finalists line up for the 2020 ICC Women’s World T20 has been decided to be played on 5^th March. India will face England in the repeat of 2018 World T20 played in West Indies. The Indian women had a great run in Group stage winning all their matches. Harmanpreet Kaur led side started the tournament stunning the defending Champions by 17 runs thanks to Poonam Yadav sensational 4 wicket spell.

In the second group match, India cruised to 18 run win over Bangladesh thanks to Shafali Verma brilliance played at WACA Stadium, Perth on 24th February. It was a close fought match in their Group A match against New Zealand at Junction Oval, Melbourne on 27^th February. Despite Verma 46 off 34 balls, India posted 133 for 8 in 20 overs. Amelia Kerr almost gave India a scare but Shikha Pandey held her nerves to win the match by 3 runs.

India dominated Sri Lanka in the final league match played on 29^th February at Junction Oval, Melbourne. Radha Yadav 4 for 23 restricted Sri Lanka to 113 and then Verma 47 off 34 gave a solid foundation to give India a comfortable 7 wicket win.

The Australian women’s team finished second on the points table. It was not an ideal start for the defending Champions as they lost to India by 17 runs played on 21^st February. In their 2^nd group match against Sri Lanka played on 24^th February at WACA Stadium, Perth, Australia restricted Sri Lanka to just 122 for 6. Despite having a horrid start losing 3 wickets for 10 runs, Haynes and Lanning adding 95 runs for the 4^th wicket. Haynes led from front scoring 60 runs to lead Australia to 5 wicket wins.

Thanks to a solid batting display by Healy and Mooney, Australia cruise to an easy 86 runs win over Bangladesh in their 3^rd match at Canberra on 27^th February. In the virtual quarterfinal against New Zealand on 2^nd March, a good batting performance helped Australia post a competitive total of 155 for 6. Despite Katie Martin 37 off 18 balls, Australia held their nerves to win the match by 4 runs to qualify for the semi-finals.

In Group B, South Africa finished at the top with 7 points. They started their tournament defeating strong English side by 6 wickets in a thrilling encounter played at WACA Ground, Perth on 23^rd February. A discipline bowling performance by South Africa restricted England to just 123 for 8. In reply, Dane Van Niekerk 46 off 51 balls led them to a thrilling 6 wicket win.

South Africa proved too strong as they defeated Thailand by a massive 113 runs margin at Canberra on 28t February. In their third Group match, it was another strong performance by South African team as they defeated Pakistan by 17 runs at Canberra on 1^st March. Their last Group match against West Indies was washed out due to rain and were awarded one point each.

England finished 2^nd in the points table with 6 points from 4 games. After losing their first game against South Africa, Heather Knight scored important knocks against Thailand, Pakistan which helped them to register big wins. In their league game against West Indies played on 1^st March at Sydney, England posted 143 for 5 and then bowled out West Indies for 91 to register a thumping 46 runs win.

Here we look at the SF line up

1. 1^st Semi-finals (India versus England)- 5^th March
2. 2^nd Semi-finals (South Africa versus Australia)- 5^th

It promises to be an mouth-watering clash in these two semi-finals. The Indian women team will be looking to take revenge from 2018 Semi-finals loss to England that took place in West Indies. South Africa is taking part in their only 2^nd knockout match in World T20 tournament.