England captain Heather Knight insisted her team’s shock six-run defeat by South Africa in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup in Cape Town would not ‘define’ them after they passed up a golden opportunity to face Australia on Sunday’s final.
At 53 without loss after five overs chasing 165, with openers Danni Wyatt and Sophia Dunkley going well, England looked favorites for what would have been their 20th win in 23 T20 matches against the South Africans.
However, unlike their opponents, who lost their first wicket in the 14th over and just four in total, England's wickets tumbled towards the end, shifting the momentum firmly in favor of the hosts.
Medium-pacer Nadine de Klerk got through four overs for 17 and took the vital wicket of Nat Sciver-Brunt for 40, while fellow seamer Ayabonga Khaka took three wickets in a crucial 18th over. Tazmin Brits, meanwhile, who had hit 68 off 55 balls as opener, held four catches and was awarded player of the match.
Amy Jones, Sophie Ecclestone, and Katherine Sciver-Brunt were dismissed in that game-changing over from Khaka, leaving captain Knight the difficult task of knocking off the remaining runs with England's lower order.
England needed 13 going into the final over, but South Africa's victory was all but confirmed when Knight was bowled with three balls remaining, for 31 from 25 balls.
Shabnim Ismail bowled the final six deliveries of the match, finishing with three for 27, as South Africa made history by reaching their first World Cup final in both men's and women's cricket.
As South Africa took the match to England early, Laura Wolvaardt and Brits put on a superb 96-run opening partnership to kickstart the dramatic affair.
Ecclestone took three of England's four wickets to limit South Africa's total, which marked their highest score at the World Cup so far.
She went for just three singles in a sensational 19th over of the host's innings, but Katherine Sciver-Brunt conceded 18 off the final over.
Speaking afterward, Knight refused to blame her 37-year-old attack leader. ‘It’s a tough job bowling in the death overs,’ she said. ‘It would be unfair if that’s the story. As a side, this doesn’t define us. With T20, you’re going to lose games sometimes, and it wasn’t our day.’
England had been in dominant form ahead of the semi-final and were favorites to advance, having swept past Pakistan, India, Ireland, and West Indies with relative ease.
They were 53-0 inside the powerplay and had knocked off 131 runs for three wickets after just 16 overs, before the devastating collapse.
Australia booked their place in the final after narrowly beating India by five runs on Thursday.
The Proteas are now bidding to deny the reigning champions their third successive title, which would be their sixth overall, in Sunday's final at Newlands.
