“It shows a lot about this team, the way we have changed things,” Knight said. “I would have bitten your hand a few weeks ago to be in this position.” England’s victory came thanks to half a century from Sophia Dunkley and three wickets each for spinners Sophie Ecclestone (three for 15) and Charlie Dean (three for 31). The crucial thing is that the victory also led England to third place in the table, which means that it will avoid facing Australia in the last four. Instead, England will play their semi-final against South Africa on Thursday in Christchurch. It will be an exact replay of the previous knockout match in 2017, in which England lost their home with two doors with just two balls left. Otherwise, there was disappointment for India, which brutally snatched its own place in the semifinals at eleven o’clock as it lost a final ball thriller from South Africa. It means that, unlikely, the West Indies – recorded in a video at their hotel dancing and screaming with joy after South Africa marked the victorious routes – are going against India and will play the first semifinal with Australia in Wellington on Wednesday. . The result India vs. South Africa characterizes the competitive nature of this World Cup. Chasing the 275, South Africa had reached a touchdown thanks to Laura Wolvaardt’s 80, but needed three more of the last two balls when Mignon du Preez (52 *) was caught in the long-on. But the referee adjusted that the bowler Deepti Sharma had bypassed and Du Preez returned to achieve the winning streak through the midwicket. Sneh Rana from India dives and misses a fishing trip to the Mignon du Preez. Photo: Peter Meecham / Getty Images Earlier in the day, after choosing to beat Bangladesh first and falling to 96 for 4, the English’s nerves would have been confused, but a cool 67 of Dunkley’s 72 balls allowed them to set Bangladesh at 235, which proved to be a good thing. . out of range. Dunkley had stated before the tournament that she wanted to “play fearlessly”. this innings, filled with glorious lofted drives for four, met that intention. In response, Bangladesh’s run-chase never gained much momentum, with just 23 runs placed on the dashboard in 10-over powerplay. Then, after Ecclestone picked up his scalp in successive over, netting Sharmin Akhter and catching Shamima Sultana in the middle of the off, the wickets continued to fall at regular intervals. Dean added three more to increase her tournament tally to 10, although she played only four of England’s seven games, while Fraja Davis, who came on to play for her first World Cup match since Anya rested. Shrubsole, also entered the game, holding two sharp plates and completing the process in the 48th over with the wicket of Ritu Moni. Although Knight then said that England would be happy to play “whoever is given to us”, she admitted that she had kept an “eye on net performance” during the match. As it turned out, such calculations were questionable as India stumbled on the last hurdle, with England already far behind the West Indies in the table. The Spin: sign up and receive our weekly email cricket. The reversal in the fate of England was dramatic. Two weeks ago, after a third straight defeat in as many tournament games, coach Lisa Keightley appeared on the verge of resigning on the spot as she faced the media. “As a coach, I take on a huge responsibility. “It is up to me to lead the team and get the victories on the board,” he said. “We will continue to fight.” And England has to fight. It was the clawing of nails and teeth that kept them in contention, with their score with a wicket against New Zealand a week ago proving crucial to allow them to move on. “All the girls are really proud of us,” Dunkley said. “Obviously we did not play our best cricket in the first three games. We knew we could go out and make better appearances. “We had a lot of faith in the group and a lot of positivity to get through.” Some will say England is peaking at the right time. Others may wonder if this is a position in which England should never have been in first place, given the resources at their disposal compared to other teams playing in this World Cup. He says a lot that the qualification to the semifinals is celebrated by the players with relief, when before the tournament it was the minimum that the defenders of the champions expected. Necropsies, however, can wait. There is currently a semi-final with South Africa in preparation, a team that beat England by three wickets earlier in this tournament. With Shrubsole resting on Sunday and Katherine Brunt out of action for two-thirds of Bangladesh’s match due to a “tight back”, Knight will be hoping the pair of her new ball will be able to retrieve their mojo before crucial match on Thursday, and the peak of the most dramatic pirouette in the history of the World Cup.
