“Eat, sleep, win World Cup, repeat”- Twitter goes berserk as Australia upset hosts South Africa to win sixth World Cup title
South Africa may not have won the game today, but they made their country fall in love with the sport again.
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Australia upset hosts South Africa to win sixth World Cup title
Australia have developed the habit of reaching the final and winning the World Cup it seems. Why is it so difficult to beat them? South Africa may have shocked the Englishwomen in the semis to reach their maiden final, but as their opponents were Australia, they had to produce something extraordinary.
They did somehow restrict Meg Lanning and co. to 156/6, but undoubtedly it was a challenging total in front of the fierce Aussie bowling attacks and tight fielding. With the bat, only Beth Mooney shone. She is made for the finals, she is made to play knocks under pressure. It was her unbeaten 74 off 53, laced with nine boundaries and a six that took Australia to the total.
South Africa’s opener Laura Wolvaardt was the lone warrior. Her half-century knock of 61 off 48 (with five boundaries and three sixes) was a glimmer of hope for the hosts, but not for too long. In the 17th over, Megan Schutt delivered a full one in the middle, and Laura swung her bat but missed it completely. The ball hit on the pads and up went the finger.
Laura took the review which left her disappointed. Australia got back the momentum again and the Proteas never recovered from there. The champions did not break a sweat to add another trophy to their name. They restricted South Africa to 137/6 to win the match by 19 runs.
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Check how Twitter reacted to Australia’s victory
Beth Mooney received the Player of the Match, while Ashleigh Gardner got the Player of the Tournament award. “I guess we’ve been longing for this moment since the last World Cup. We weren’t in a winning position for a lot of time, but we scrapped and fought through. My role within the team is try and change the game with whatever I can do. What I’m most excited for is that we are World Champions.” Indeed they are. Gardner said this right. Several times they weren’t in a winning position but they fought back to snatch the games entirely in their favor. They eked out a narrow five-run win in the semi-final against India.
Meg Lanning has now become the most successful captain in cricket history. She surpassed Ricky Ponting and had five World Cups to her name as a leader.
South Africa may not have won the game today, but they made their country fall in love with the sport again.
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Gouri Das
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