ANALYSIS
Follow UsA couple of days after recording their highest-ever run chase in the history of the fifty-over format, South Africa set foot at the Hagley Oval brimming with confidence against a scratchy England outfit.
While they have been one of the most consistent sides in this edition of the World Cup, the gravity of the occasions and the possibility of playing in their first final of the extravaganza got the better of the Proteas side as they succumbed to a 137-run defeat against the reigning champions.
With a plethora of emotions and a bit of tear during the anthems, the fans and the supporters could witness how much this tournament and this match meant to South African cricket.
Over the years and in the course of the seven league matches, the Proteas have chased well in the competition. Hence it was no surprise that Sune Luus won the toss and elected to field first.
While England have blown hot and cold in their campaign, one of the glaring issues for the side was the lack of partnerships at the top of the order.
With Lauren Winfield-Hill struggling for runs, the 31-year old was dropped from the playing XI after the first couple of games as England opted to use a new opening pair of Danielle Wyatt and Tammy Beaumont.
Despite the rejigged combination, England were unable to stitch any 50-run stand for the first wicket in this edition of the iconic event. They have lost 12 wickets in the first ten overs of the innings and have a ball per wicket ratio of 40, the worst among all the teams in the competition.
And today was no different as Beaumont was caught behind for seven in the fourth over of the innings to give the Proteas an early breakthrough. However, they were up against a player who was determined to prove her critics wrong after a string of below-par performances in the lead-up to this mega event.
With question marks about her place in the playing XI of the side, Wyatt enthralled the fans at the Hagley Oval with a masterclass to propel the side to a massive first innings total of 293 runs for the loss of eight wickets.
While there was never any doubts about her skills and her ability to take the attack to the opposition bowling unit, it is fair to say that the right-handed batter has not translated them into match-winning performances.
However, with the stakes rocking sky-high and the pressure of early wicket, Wyatt produced one of her best innings in this format in probably the biggest game of her career to help England crawl their way out of safety in the first innings.
Despite an early stutter, Wyatt steadied the innings and accumulated the ones and the twos to help England reach 44 for one in the powerplay.
With the fiery opening burst from Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail, Wyatt was patient to negate the swing on offer and get acclimatised to the pace and bounce of the surface.
The 30-year old made optimum use of her cut shot to amass the majority of her runs in the boundaries through the point and cover-point region.
While it has been a productive area for Wyatt over the years, South Africa missed a trick by setting up a field precisely for that particular stroke. She managed to score almost 63 percent of her runs through the off-side, mainly square of the wicket, to smash her first century in this quadrennial event.
En route to her match-winning knock, she forged a crucial 116-run stand for the fifth wicket with Sophie Dunkley and notched up her second hundred in this format to help the side inch closer to their bid of defending their title.
With a massive total on the board and the pressure of the semi-finals, South Africa crumbled under pressure and succumbed to a 137-run loss.
And after all the hype and the build-up to this edition of the World Cup, England will rekindle their rivalry with Australia in their bid for top honours in the history of women's sport.
