By Zaahier Adams 
1 hour ago
Four of the best women's teams in the world are ready to fight in a double header at high speed. The prize: A place in the final of the T20 World Cup on Sunday at the MCG.
India is the favorite for dominating Group A, shocking Australia at the opening of the tournament, and will face England in the first semifinals.
India took over with the English after narrowly losing the centerpiece of the 50 overs to their hosts in an epic Lords final two years ago. The Indians, however, have learned from this experience and boast of a bubbling team of match winners such as Shafali Verma, Poonam Yadav and Captain Harmanpreet Kaur.
Just like the Indias men's team under Virat Kohli, this Indian women's team is courageous with Shafali and Harmanpreet in the lead.
England, on the other hand, is a team in transition. They have a new coach and they lack the mercurial talents – both behind the stumps and with the bat – of Sarah Taylor, now retired. There is still the experience of Heather Knight and Natalie Sciver, but as we saw in their opening defeat against the Proteas, this might not be enough.
But it's the undercard on the day. All of Australia will wait for the second game when the home nation faces Dane van Niekerks Proteas. This is the match that is played on everyone's lips.
It's not just another game for these teams. It is a date with destiny for quite contrasting reasons. For Australians, this tournament is a celebration of how the female game has gone from amateur time to high-class professional endeavor, with Meg Lannings teaming up its flag bearers.
The month-long parade was not fully planned. India was almost the ultimate poo party when they defeated the Australians in the group stages, pushing the home team to the brink of elimination. After sailing through the rest of the shark-infested waters with narrow victories over Sri Lanka and New Zealand, the worst was to come with tournament poster Elysse Perry, the girl banned this week.
There is a lot of noise around the Australian camp and this will only get louder with a media review that has become almost unbearable as anticipation increases before D-Day.
And that brings me to the Proteas. There is a reason why I only mentioned them at the bottom of this column. Having been labeled everything, from outsiders to dark horses in the constitution, the Proteas adopted their statute and were perfectly comfortable staying below the radar.
It is a sign of maturity. Previously, they were concerned with the opposition and the names of the superstars in their formations. Not anymore! They are now focusing on themselves, their preparation and their processes. This has only been possible thanks to the experience gained over the years and solid leadership.
The pressure to hope to become the first senior Proteas team to compete in an ICC World Cup final could be immense. But Van Niekerks sees it as an opportunity. Their unique chance to become pioneers. The prospect of finding their way into the next generation of cricketers in South Africa is their source of motivation.
IOL Sport
