Their place in the last four, however, was only confirmed after a tense wait for the outcome of the day's second match.

South Africa were pushed all the way at the Home of Cricket but showed composure under pressure to secure a semi-final showdown against hosts England, who booked top spot in Group 2 a day earlier.

Marizanne Kapp struck with the first ball again - ICC

Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first in London, but their innings got off to the worst possible start when Marizanne Kapp dismissed Juairiya Ferdous with the very first ball of the match to claim a golden duck.

Although Bangladesh never truly found momentum, Sobhana Mostary anchored the innings with a patient 42 off 48 balls, while captain Nigar Sultana provided a late flourish with an unbeaten 32 off just 20 deliveries. They eventually posted 117/5 from their 20 overs.

South Africa's bowlers once again laid the foundation for victory. Nonkululeko Mlaba was outstanding with figures of 2/22, while Kapp delivered another masterclass, conceding just nine runs in her four overs while taking one wicket. Shabnim Ismail and Nadine de Klerk also chipped in with a wicket apiece.

Sharmin Akhter - ICC

The Proteas' chase couldn't have started any worse either. Captain Laura Wolvaardt was bowled for a golden duck with the first ball of the innings as young seamer Marufa Akter struck immediately to put Bangladesh on the front foot.

A determined 52-run partnership between Tazmin Brits and Annerie Dercksen steadied the innings. Brits contributed a patient 20 from 24 balls, while Dercksen produced another mature knock, top-scoring with 45 off 45 deliveries.

Even then, the job was far from finished. Useful contributions from Kapp with 16 and De Klerk with 15 kept South Africa on course before Chloe Tryon and Sinalo Jafta calmly guided the Proteas over the line with four balls to spare.

Nahida Akter was Bangladesh's standout bowler, finishing with figures of 2/24 from her four overs.

The victory alone wasn't enough to guarantee South Africa a place in the semi-finals. They then had to watch nervously as the six-time champions Australia faced India at Lord's. In another thrilling contest, the Australians chased down a record target to seal a six-wicket win with one over remaining, confirming the Proteas' passage to the knockout stage.

Speaking afterwards, Wolvaardt admitted her side had made life harder than necessary.

Marizanne Kapp - ICC

“No, not quite. Today we needed a win and it's a bit frustrating how we got ourselves into that position. But we won the game, we got our points, and then we had to sit and watch the next game.

“I think it was maybe just a mindset thing. Knowing we only needed 120, we probably batted a bit within ourselves and didn't go to our positive options early enough. They bowled really well on a slow wicket, but in those situations we've got to take the braver option a little earlier.”

Looking ahead to Thursday's semi-final against England, Wolvaardt acknowledged the challenge awaiting her team but believes South Africa have every chance of reaching a third consecutive T20 World Cup final.

Nadine de Klerk - ICC

“England are looking really good at the moment and they have a lot of batters in excellent form. But at the same time, we've had the upper hand in knockout games in recent tournaments.

“If we play a really good game of cricket, we can beat anyone on our day. We'll go back to the drawing board and see what we can do to stop some of their batters who are in good form.”

Thursday's semi-final between England and the Proteas at The Oval in London gets underway at 19:30, with South Africa just one victory away from another ICC Women's T20 World Cup final.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport