AUS W vs SA W | Twitter in awe as record-breaking Alana King extends Australia’s unbeaten run in ODI World Cup

‌Alana King went on a rampage as Australia thrashed South Africa by seven wickets in their final group game of the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup in Indore on Saturday. The leg-spinner recorded career-best figures of 7/18 in ODIs during her seven-over spell, as the defending champions blew South Africa away to seal their place at the top of the points table.

The Proteas had a good start after being put into bat at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, with Laura Wolvaardt smashing four boundaries of Megan Schutt in the third over of the game. The South Africa skipper followed it up with two more fours of Kim Garth as they moved to 32/0 in the first six overs. However, Schutt got her revenge as she dismissed the opener in the next over, while her partner also perished three overs later. The introduction of King proved a game-changer for the Aussies as she picked up a double-wicket maiden in her very first over. The leg-spinner’s exploits ensured that the Proteas slipped from 43/2 to 60/6 in the gap of four overs. There was no respite for the batting side as King ran through the tail to skittle them out for just 97 runs in 24 overs. She broke a flurry of records during her seven-wicket spell, registering the best bowling figures in a Women’s World Cup game. She also went ahead of Ellyse Perry, who picked up 7/22 against England in 2019, to own the best figures by an Australian bowler in Women’s ODIs. For South Africa, Wolvaardt top-scored with 31 runs in 26 balls, while wicketkeeper-batter Sinalo Jafta’s entertaining 17-ball 29, which included seven boundaries, helped the side inch closer to the 100-run mark.

Though opener Phoebe Litchfield and Perry left early in the chase, the total never looked challenging as fellow opener Georgia Voll and Beth Mooney calmed the early nerves with a 76-run stand. Mooney hit six fours to make a 41-ball 42, but was unfortunate to be dismissed with only 11 runs short of the target. However, Voll remained unbeaten and took the side home with a run-a-ball 38. The seven-time ODI World Champion reached the target of 98 with more than 33 overs to spare. The medium pace trio of Marizanne Kapp, Masabata Klaas, and Nadine de Klerk all picked up a wicket each in the lop-sided game.