Women's T20 World Cup: South Africa beat Bangladesh to set up England semi-final
South Africa will play England in the Women's T20 World Cup semi-final after a 10-wicket win against Bangladesh.
Laura Wolvaardt hit an unbeaten 66 from 56 balls as a nervy Proteas side made hard work chasing down a modest target of 114, with 13 balls to spare.
It meant South Africa finished second in Group 1 behind holders Australia, who face India in the other semi-final.
Captain Nigar Sultana Joty earlier top-scored with 30 from 34 balls as Bangladesh trundled to 113-6.
Though a 10-wicket win sounds dominant, it was a low-quality game littered with individual mistakes from both sides and dominated by cautious batting.
Bangladesh managed just seven fours throughout their entire innings, seemingly content to push through ones and twos on their way to a below-par total.
South Africa will have been confident of chasing those runs down at the interval, but openers Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits struggled for any fluency, limping to 43-0 at the halfway stage.
They belatedly accelerated in the second half of the innings and both reached half centuries to ease some of the tension that had been growing around a sizeable Newlands crowd.
Wolvaardt won the match at the end of the 17th over with one of her trademark drives through the covers, with Brits finishing unbeaten on 50 from 51 balls at the other end.
Despite the victory, hosts South Africa will need to show considerable improvement if they are to overcome an in-form England side, who continued their fine tournament with a dominant record-breaking victory over Pakistan earlier on Tuesday.
'We made it look a bit harder than it was' - reaction
Player of the match Laura Wolvaardt: "I think Taz [Brits] and I were under a bit of pressure. We didn't get off to the best starts. It was a mental innings to stay in it and trust the runs would come at the end.
"We made it look a bit harder than it was, it was actually a good wicket to bat on. I think our bowlers deserve this trophy for restricting them on this good surface.
South Africa captain Sune Luus: "It was good that they batted through. It was a nervy start but you've got to back your players. They are world-class players. I am just happy with the win and hopefully we can continue it in the semis.
"It is the first semi-final in South Africa. Newlands has been packed tonight and hopefully [will be] again on Friday. I am stoked with the performance."
Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana Joty: "I guess with this surface we needed 140 or more to defend. We couldn't manage runs in the powerplay - we are looking forward to playing better in our next match.
"It is very difficult to defend a small total and miss chances. We created chances but they missed out and it's very hard on the bowlers. We'll talk about that and work on that."
This article originally appeared on BBC Sport
Photo: BBC