CAPE TOWN: In the end, it was a familiar script. A two-week-long movie where all the other countries battled against one another before one of them lost to Australia in the final. It has been the same for five years now; two T20 World Cups, an ODI World Cup, and a Commonwealth Games gold in the period. Sunday at Newlands was no different as Australia handed the hosts, South Africa, a heartbreak to win their sixth T20 World Cup title; their third in a row, to complete their second hat-trick in the history of the tournament.
While the climax was well known, it is the story narrative, the ebbs and flows, the characters and the twists that make a movie interesting. This movie — the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup — did not disappoint on that front. From starting off with an upset to providing several enthralling moments through the league stage before history was made on Friday with South Africa qualifying for a senior World Cup final for the very first time, it had all the ingredients.
In fact, despite the familiar climax, with Meg Lanning's Australia beating South Africa by 19 runs in the final, that is what made this tournament what it was. To have a record crowd for any women's sporting event that has happened in South Africa is all the ICC could have asked for after the dream MCG final three years ago.
If the tournament had an almost perfect final off the field, the on-field action on Sunday was no less. Having been asked to field by Lanning, the South African bowling attack gave it their all. With the crowd, their families, and fans cheering on them on every delivery, Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp, and Ayabonga Khaka were steaming in. So much that Australia were under the pump. After seven overs, they were only 47/1 and had lost Alyssa Healy. South Africa were on top with an atmosphere that was nothing short of surreal.
Now, this is where Australia is different from other sides. They had seen what happened in the semifinal against India. When Lanning and Mooney were in the middle, India never lost control. Having almost lost the match, they had course-corrected in the final. In came Ashleigh Gardner at No 3, who took on the Proteas bowlers. She smashed back-to-back sixes off De Klerk to gain momentum. When Gardner got out for a 21-ball 29, Australia doubled down by sending in Grace Harris. While it might not have reaped fruit, they knew what they needed and acted accordingly. Mooney, as she did in the 2020 final, put her foot down in the latter part of the innings, smashing an unbeaten 53-ball 74. With 34 runs in the last three overs, Australia finished with 156/6.
This is something Lanning had spoken about on Saturday. She made it clear that they know there will be phases where South Africa would dominate. Their game plan was to wait for their moment and when it comes, they will pounce on it. They did that against India and continued the same, a bit more efficiently, in the final as well.
While the total wasn't too big for South Africa, they missed the trick by not scoring enough in the powerplay. To score just 22 runs in the first six overs while chasing 157 was always going to catch up with them. Despite the valiant effort from Laura Wolvaardt (61) and Chloe Tryon (25), they fell short in the end as Australia lifted their sixth T20 World Cup title.
It was a heartbreak for the South African team — some of them have waited more than a decade to play in a final — and the hundreds of thousands of fans who were either at the stadium or watching the match in their homes. But there is hope. What happened on Sunday evening in Cape Town has never happened before in the history of South African cricket. That the entire stadium gave them a standing ovation even as De Klerk and Sinalo Jafta were on their knees after the final delivery was bowled is proof. Despite the heartbreak, Sune Luus led the squad as they did a lap of honour to thank the fans.
"To play to this crowd with so many people watching and supporting, we never imagined. I think my wish is just to keep on growing. We have set the platform today and throughout the tournament. I think we can’t go backward, we just need to keep growing women’s sport, keep knocking on the door,” said Luus after the match.
Indeed, not just for South Africa, but women’s cricket across the globe. For despite the familiar climax, what the Proteas women achieved in this tournament is what made this T20 World Cup a blockbuster hit.