New Zealand did the Proteas a huge favor by leaving qualification for the semi-finals of the Women’s T20 World Championship firmly in their hands ahead of their final pool match against Bangladesh on Tuesday night.
South Africa team were in danger of being eliminated on Sunday and a Sri Lankan victory should have left the Protei in the playoffs, but instead the White Ferns thrashed their opponents 102 to keep South Africa in the hunt.
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The White Ferns are currently second in Pool A (behind Australia) with four points ahead of Sri Lanka in net speed.
The Proteas are in fourth place with two points, but thanks to a significantly higher net running speed, all they need is a win over Bangladesh to confirm their playoff qualification ahead of New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
However, a shock defeat would have knocked them out of the competition.
Mandatory match
The Proteas opened the World Cup with a surprise loss to Sri Lanka that put them at an immediate disadvantage, but they responded with a crushing victory over the White Ferns to get back in contention.
Losing to defending champions and tournament favorites Australia in their third pool match was largely expected and they now need to beat Bangladesh to get through.
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The Proteas should be able to beat Bangladesh, which has had a difficult tournament so far, losing seven wickets to Sri Lanka, eight wickets to Australia and 71 rounds to New Zealand.
So playoff qualifiers are entirely in the hands of the Proteus, and they need to make sure they get through until they get hit by rain or put on a terrifying performance.