Women's World T20 Cup

2nd Semi-Final: ENG-W vs SA-W

Preview

The second semi-final of the eighth edition of the Women's T20 WC 2023 will take place between England versus the Hosts South Africa on Friday, 24th February 2023 at 06:30 PM IST. This match is scheduled to take place at Newlands, Cape Town. Both teams will be heading for this mega clash after winning their respective last league matches.

The English finished group B on the top with a hundred per cent record in league matches of the Women's WC tournament 2023, they defeated IND, PAK, IRE & WI. On the other hand, the Hosts South Africa finished second in group A after thrashing BAN-W by 10 wickets and secured their semifinal berth overtaking NZ-W in the group.

Heather Knight's side England has been performing brilliantly in the ongoing T20 WC and will look to continue this excellent form in the semi-finals as well. English Women thrashed Pakistan Women in their last group match by 114 runs and made it 4 out of 4 wins. Thanks to the courtesy of Nat Sciver-Brunt's 81 off 40 balls powered England to post a target of 214 runs in 20 overs after a splendid performance with the bat. Nida Dar's PAK was never in the game as the team managed only 99 runs while losing 9 wickets.

On the other hand, the Hosts SA-W women’s journey to the semi-finals has been nothing short of an inspiration and magical. The Hosts look solid in their last match against BAN-W, they had to win their final match against Bangladesh by a big margin to qualify and they did just that. They won the match by 10 wickets and stormed their way into the tournament's knockout phase. The blistering knocks of Wolvaardt's 66 and Tazim Brits' 50 unbeaten secured semis place for the SA side. The Proteas Women will also need to continue their gritty performances in the next stage of the tournament if they want to achieve glory at home.

While Batting first the English batters smashed the opposition bowlers all over the park. The opener of the side Stalwart Danni Wyatt started brilliantly up the order scoring 59 runs off 33 balls that included 7 fours and 2 sixes in her innings. Middle-order batter Nat Sciver-Brunt continued her excellent form with the bat, remaining unbeaten on 81 runs off 40 balls that included 12 fours and 1 six. They helped ENG-W post a humongous 213 runs in 20 overs.

Heather Knight's bowlers' did their job and backed their batters perfectly in the tournament so far. They did not let any Pakistani batter settle as they could manage only 99 runs and beat them by 114 runs. Sciver-Brunt and Charlie Dean claimed 2 wickets each in the process. Their all-round will send strong signals to the opposition in the upcoming semi-finals.

The Proteas have risen above expectations and made it to the semi-finals of the Women’s T20 WC this time and they are set to face the unbeaten English side on Friday. SA defeated Bangladesh in a must-win clash to leapfrog NZ-W and enter the knockout stages. SA chased down the target of 114 runs without losing a wicket and in turn boosting their run rate. Proteas bowlers were on point and restricted the opposition to a low total.  The likes of Kapp and Khaka were the top bowlers for SA-W and picked 2 wickets each in the innings.

Match Details

Match: ENG-W vs SA-W, Semi Final 2, Women's World T20 Cup

Date: Friday, 24 February

Time: 06:30 PM

Venue: Newlands, Cape Town

Pitch & Weather Report

The team winning the toss will elect to field first as according to the history of Newlands, the team chasing has won more matches than the team batting first. The onset of dew in the second innings of the match will also be a factor to bowl first and chase down a total. The second semi-final will be played at this venue on Friday b/w EN-W vs SA-W.

At this Newlands, the average first-inning total is 160. In the second inning, the score reduces to 143. The deck at this Stadium is normally fantastic for spinners, and you may take advantage of adequate grip and turn at this location.

The maximum temperature will remain at 23°C, with a low of 17°C with 68% humidity, and a wind speed of 27 Km/hr for the second semifinal Match, the Women's WC T20 on Feb 24 b/w ENG-W vs SA-W. The weather in Newlands, Cape Town, SA during the match day will be cloudy and no rain is predicted.

ENG-W vs IND-W Squad:

ENG-W: Heather Knight (c), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Katherine Sciver-Brunt, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Danni Wyatt.

IND-W: Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Thakur Singh, Smriti Mandhana, Shikha Pandey, Devika Vaidya, Anjali Sarvani.

ENG-W vs IND-W: Probable XIs

ENG-W: Sophia Dunkley, Danielle Wyatt, Alice Capsey, Nat Sciver, Heather Knight, Sophie Ecclestone, Katherine Brunt, Sarah Glenn, Lauren Bell, Charlotte Dean, Amy Jones 

IND-W: Shefali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Yastika Bhatia, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Thakur Singh

Match Prediction

It is going to be a good clash between both sides as SA-W will have a home advantage over ENG-W as the tournament is held in South Africa but the way ENG-W is playing looks inevitable side to beat in the semis. However, Heather Knight's English side is one of the strongest and in-form teams in women’s world cricket right now. England is unbeaten in the entire tournament and has played some wonderful and positive cricket throughout. We say England to win this encounter as well and make it to the final of the Women's T20 WC.

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