South Africa edge past England to reach T20 World Cup final

South Africa are through to their first-ever World Cup final in any format.

South Africa Women 164 for 4 (Brits 68, Wolvaardt 53, Ecclestone 3-22) beat England Women 158 for 8 (Nat Sciver-Brunt 40, Wyatt 34, Khaka 4-29, Ismail 3-27) by 6 runs

Cape Town: An inspired South Africa reached the Women's T20 World Cup final for the first time with a tense six-run win over England.

Chasing 165 to win, England were cruising at 132-3 before Nat Sciver-Brunt's dismissal for 40 sparked a collapse of five wickets for 26 runs in 22 balls.

With 13 runs needed from the final over, Shabnim Ismail held her nerve to bowl England captain Heather Knight for 31 and seal a thrilling victory in front of a packed Cape Town crowd.

Hosts South Africa will play defending champions Australia in the final on Sunday.

A thrilling match saw South Africa successfully defend a very competitive 164/4, reached thanks to half-centuries from openers Tazmin Brits and Laura Wolvaardt.

The momentum swung back and forth during England’s chase, with England’s openers getting off to a lightning start, Brits clinging on to four catches to remove each of England’s top four, and Ayabonga Khaka taking three wickets in a match-changing over.

And it all came down to Shabnim Ismail’s final over, with England requiring 13 runs to win and falling six runs short.

The result means that South Africa are through to their first-ever World Cup final in any format.

England’s openers got the reply off to a stunning start, putting together a 53-run partnership inside the Powerplay to bring down the required scoring rate.

The explosive Sophia Dunkley fell at the start of the sixth over, mistiming a big shot off Shabnim Ismail into the hands of Brits to depart for 28 from 16.

And Brits pulled off a sensational catch two balls later to remove Alice Capsey without scoring.