Australia secured their sixth ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup title after a thrilling 19-run victory over the Momentum Proteas.

The Australians were limited to 156-6 in their allotted 20 overs, giving the Proteas a fighting chance. However, the South African chase slowed, despite the best efforts of Laura Wolvaardt, who ended the tournament as the top run-scorer.

While their slow starts while batting has become a habit, the South Africans could not gain the upper hand during the crucial stages of the match.

🚨 RESULT | AUSTRALIA WIN BY 19 RUNS

We fought it to the very last ball but the fairytale comes to and end.

Congratulations Australia on winning the #T20WorldCup 🏆#AUSvSA #MyHero #AlwaysRising pic.twitter.com/9vqNfpnUaj

— Proteas Women (@ProteasWomenCSA) February 26, 2023

The Southern Stars shine with the bat

Australia won a crucial toss, and Meg Lanning chose to bat first. The Proteas have, more often than not, failed to get over the line when batting second.

As expected, Australia came out swinging in the start of their innings, with their bats blazing. The Proteas’ bowling was tight, but the Aussie opening batting pair of Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney made them pay when they missed their mark. Mooney played a superb innings, and would post an impressive unbeaten 74 off 53 balls.

Shabmin Ismail took a couple of quick wickets at the end of the innings, but Australia still managed to post a daunting total.

Proteas too slow out of the blocks

The Proteas would start the chase in, what has become, their trademark slow fashion. The Powerplay would end with just 22 runs on the scoreboard.

Wolvaardt almost single-handedly kept South Africa in the match as wickets fell all around her. She would have to depart herself after a fantastic innings, which saw her post 61 off 48 deliveries.

Unfortunately, the Proteas lacked firepower in the back end of the chase. The ask of 44 runs required off the final 20 deliveries is not an impossible task. However, the South African tail just couldn’t get the ball past the ropes on the boundary.

Proteas deserve the praise

Although we didn’t secure the victory on the day, simply reaching the final is an incredible accomplishment. By doing so, the Momentum Proteas became the first senior South African team to make it to the final of an ICC World Cup.

Australia is a powerhouse in women’s cricket, but being only 19 runs away from this formidable team in a T20 World Cup final proves that we are not far behind.

Well done, Proteas! And well done South Africa for hosting an incredible tournament!

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