After Australia defeated South Africa in the second semifinal of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020, the Proteas skipper Dane van Niekerk said she would rather lose than getting a free pass to World Cup final.
Notably, rain delayed the second semifinal match in Sydney and in case the match had been abandoned, South Africa would have entered the final on the virtue of their top position in Group B.
To the Proteas’ poor luck, the match did happen and Australia inched them by 5 runs (DLS method).
“I am not going to sit and lie and say, ‘You don’t think about it’,” van Niekerk said, about the possibility of her team qualifying for the final if the match had been washed out (Source: IANS).
“I have to give credit to the ground staff; they did absolutely everything to keep us on the park. And we are here to play cricket. I’d rather lose than get a free pass into the World Cup final,” the skipper added.
Getting an invitation to bat first, Australia had posted 134 runs on the board in their stipulated quota of 20 overs before rain delayed the proceeding during the innings break at Sydney Cricket Ground and gave the Proteas a DLS-revised target of 98 runs in 13 overs.
In the final, Australia will play against India, who have qualified for the final as their semifinal match against England got abandoned due to rain. The Women in Blue had finished Group A as table-toppers which saw them move ahead for the next stage despite no match being played on Thursday.