Dominance in one group and four-way tie in another after fascinating day.
THE Super Six stage of the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup began with wins for New Zealand and England to see them take control of Group 2. But Australia’s crushing win over India and South Africa’s victory over Bangladesh means all four teams are level on points with one game each to play in Group 1.

Australia demolish India
An inspired bowling performance saw Australia consign India to a heavy defeat in Potchefstroom and keep their semi-final hopes well and truly alive.

An intimidatingly-strong Indian top-order had little answer to the quality of the Australian bowling on the day, with Milly Illingworth (2/12) among the wickets early on, dismissing the dangerous pair of Shafali Verma and Gongadi Trisha in her first and second overs.

Maggie Clark (2/18) picked up the baton to continue to run through the recognised batters, dismissing Sonia Mehdiya and the experienced Richa Ghosh to leave India in trouble at 43/4.

And Sianna Ginger effectively ended India’s hopes of reaching a sizeable total when she removed India’s tournament top-scorer Shweta Sehrawat (21) in the eleventh over, Parshavi Chopra in her next over, and then Mannat Kashyap in her next, finishing with figures of 3 for 13.

Set just 88 to win, Australia got off to a flier, putting on 28 in just 3.3 overs when Kate Pelle fell for a 13-ball 17.

Ginger (11 from 13) and Ella Hayward (7 from 5) were the only other wickets to fall, with Claire Moore (25*) and Amy Smith (26*) completing the job with a 41-run partnership to seal the victory in 13.5 overs.

Australia’s win sets up the prospect of a run-rate showdown in the final set of matches to decide who progresses to the semi-finals.

South Africa won by five wickets
South Africa won a fascinating match against Bangladesh to leave four teams level on points in Group 1 .

Some brilliant bowling from Kayla Reyneke kept Bangladesh in check during the first innings. The 17-year-old finished with figures of 4/19 from her four overs as the Tigresses never really got going, despite each of their top five reaching at least double figures.

Set 106 to win, South Africa got off to a scratchy start, struggling against the quality of the new-ball attack and limping to 33/4 after eight overs.

Rabeya was the star with the ball for Bangladesh, taking 3/18, with Marufa Akter also chipping in with 1/16. But a brilliant partnership worth 70 runs between Madison Landsman (37) and Karabo Meso (32*) took the tournament hosts to the brink of victory, with Meso hitting the winning boundary to complete the chase with seven balls and five wickets remaining.

The win for the Proteas sets up a fascinating scenario in Group 1, with four teams all tied on four points heading into their respective final matches.

New Zealand won by four wickets
Rwanda challenged New Zealand in a close encounter but eventually the experience of the White Ferns helped them to a victory.

New Zealand managed to keep things tight during the powerplay overs, restricting Rwanda to 27/2. After losing their openers cheaply, the African side batted with caution in order to set up a competitive total. Gisele Ishimwe (27 from 28) and Henriette Ishimwe (30 from 47) added 32 runs from 52 balls for the third wicket.

Thereafter, Rwanda tried to up the scoring rate but were hindered by the loss of wickets at regular intervals. Kate Chandler and Olivia Anderson both finished with the figures of 2/21, as New Zealand restricted Rwanda to 96/7. …

This batting effort was backed by some brilliant bowling. Rosine Irera (3/21) struck twice in her first over as New Zealand slipped to 9/2. Emma McLeod (59 from 39) and Izzy Sharp (11 from 24) then stabilised the New Zealand innings, adding a partnership of 26 runs.

McLeod picked up the pace after the third wicket fell, using her pull shot to great use in her quest for boundaries. Even as other Kiwi batters struggled to get bat to ball, McLeod looked as if she was batting on a different strip. Her aggressive strokeplay put Rwanda on the back foot and helped her side close in on the target.

When she lost her wicket to Irera, New Zealand needed merely five runs to win with four wickets to spare. They finished the formalities in 16.1 overs.

England inflict heavy defeat on Ireland
England’s complete performance saw them overcome Ireland with ease and take a big step towards a spot in the semi-finals.

Grace Scrivens (93 from 56) and Liberty Heap (42 from 29) carried forward their explosive form from the group stages to the Super Six. After taking Freya Sargent for 19 runs in the seventh over, the duo ensured that England scored over 10 runs an over for the rest of their partnership.

Heap was finally dismissed by Aimee Maguire (1/24) in the 13th over, with the England total standing at 136. And Scrivens departed in the 16th over off Sargent (1/48), falling seven short of her hundred but after having achieved the highest individual score of the tournament.

Some good hitting in the death overs from Niamh Holland (34* from 21) and Seren Smale (30* from 14) helped the batting side to 207/2. .

Ireland went for the attack, hitting 10 runs in their opening over, but some sharp England bowling and fielding saw them suffer four losses in the powerplay overs. They lost their openers Rebecca Gough (6 from 4) and Joanna Loughran (3 from 6) to run outs, while Hannah Baker (3/9) and Scrivens (1/13) accounted for the other wickets.

Ireland’s innings never really recovered, with slow left-arm spinner Sophia Smale running through their lower order to bowl them out for 86. (ICC Media)