Women's U19 T20 WC: SA script history with final berth
What's the story
Led by Kayla Reyneke, the South African Under-19 women's cricket team has created history by reaching their first-ever final in the ICC Women's Under-19 T20 World Cup history.
The tournament is being held in Malaysia. In the semi-finals, South Africa beat Australia, led by Lucy Hamilton.
This milestone achievement comes after a low-scoring match that witnessed both teams display exceptional skill and determination.
Match summary
Australia set competitive total despite early setbacks
The semi-final match started with Australia losing their opening batter, Ines McKeon, on the first ball.
Despite the setback and a difficult start that saw them at 30/3, Australia posted a competitive total of 105/8.
This was largely due to a crucial 27-run partnership between Caoimhe Bray and Eleanor Larosa for the fourth wicket, and a subsequent 19-run sixth wicket partnership between Ella Briscoe (27* off 17 balls) and Bray (36 off 44 balls).
Bowling performance
South Africa's bowling prowess shines in semi-final
South African bowler Ashleigh van Wyk was the star performer with 4/17.
She was well supported by Reyneke (1/20), Seshnie Naidu (1/21), and Nthabiseng Nini (1/18) who claimed a wicket each.
Their efforts restricted Australia's total to a manageable one, paving the way for an exciting chase.
Chase victory
South Africa's successful chase secures spot in final
In reply, South African lost their opener Simone Lourens in the third over.
However, the other opener Jemma Botha (37 off 24 balls) and Reyneke (26 off 26 balls) took their team past the 50-run mark.
Karabo Meso contributed with a 19-run knock, taking her team home with five wickets and 11 balls to spare.
Journey
A look at South Africa's journey to their maiden final
The team kicked off their campaign with a win against New Zealand by 22 runs.
They then went on to win their next two group-stage matches against Samoa and Nigeria by 10 wickets and 41 runs (DLS method) respectively.
Meanwhile, in the knockout stage, they beat Ireland in the first match by seven wickets while their second match vs USA was abandoned with a ball bowled.
SA beat favorites Australia in the first semi-final of the tournament.