South Africa staged their best performance of the tournament – with bat, ball and in the field – to upset England and secure a place in a World Cup final for the first time in any form of international cricket – men’s or women’s.

Their victory was built on a 96-run opening stand between Tazmin Brits and Laura Wolvaardt as both racked up half-centuries for the second consecutive time in this tournament before Marizanne Kapp‘s cameo of 27 from 13 balls took the hosts to 164 for 4. That left England needing their joint third-highest successful T20I run chase and joint-highest at a World Cup, matching their 2009 semi-final effort against Australia.

Ayabonga Khaka and Shabnim Ismail then claimed seven wickets between them – and Brits took a Women’s T20I record-equalling four catches to put the task beyond England and set up a clash for the trophy with defending champions Australia on Sunday. All of this had seemed so far away a fortnight ago.

The hosts had lost the opening match of the tournament to Sri Lanka by three runs at Newlands, setting back their campaign and were also beaten by Australia in Gqeberha. But they defeated Bangladesh in their final group game to squeeze into the knockout stages at the expense of New Zealand. Back in Cape Town on Friday, they held their nerve superbly to pull off a stunning victory before 7,507 fans.

Ismail, Khaka the destroyers

Ismail bowled with pace and guile in the powerplay – including some aggressive bouncers, one of which was clocked at 128kph. She claimed two wickets in that time, although England had 55 runs on the board compared to South Africa’s 37 without loss. Sophia Dunkley first miscued to midwicket, where Brits took a simple catch but it was Brits’ absolute blinder from the same position to remove Alice Capsey for a second-ball duck that set the innings alight. Cramped by the short ball, Capsey steered the ball to the right of the fielder, who ran towards it and dived, clutching the ball just above the turf as her team-mates steamed in to congratulate her – none more so than Ismail, who leapt into Brits’ arms.

Brits took another sharp catch to remove Danni Wyatt and give Khaka her first after Wyatt had been put down by Wolvaardt off Khaka’s bowling earlier in the innings. It looked like it would fall to Nat Sciver-Brunt, England’s in-form batter, to rescue her side, particularly when Chloe Tryon missed a caught-and-bowled chance, but Brits came to the fore again with a catch at long-on off a Nadine de Klerk slower ball.

Having also had Amy Jones caught by Anneke Bosch, two wickets in two balls from Khaka to remove Sophie Ecclestone and Katherine Sciver-Brunt in the 18th over left England needing 25 runs off the remaining two overs. Heather Knight‘s six off Kapp helped make it 13 off the last, but then Ismail pegged back Knight’s leg stump with three balls remaining and 12 still needed. Sarah Glenn and Charlie Dean managed just five between them before Glenn dropped to her haunches in anguish and the pair trudged off arm-in-arm as the South Africans celebrated wildly.

The Brits and Wolvaardt show: Part 2

After a sluggish start – South Africa scored just 14 off the first four overs after winning the toss – they started to raise the tempo led by Wolvaardt’s heave a long way over the fence at wide long-off. After the powerplay, they looked more in control as she and Brits followed up their unbroken stand worth 117 runs against Bangladesh with another key partnership.

Wolvaardt brought up her sixth T20I fifty with a four through cover off Ecclestone but fell three balls later to a leading edge gobbled up by Dean at cover. But that prompted Brits to flick the switch as she danced down the pitch twice in three balls to power Glenn over deep midwicket and long-on for two sixes. She brought up her half-century next ball with a four through the covers, helping herself to 17 runs off a pivotal 15th over. Brits eventually fell to a solid catch by Katherine but not before she had propelled her side towards a competitive total.

Ecclestone keeps England in it

England hadn’t helped themselves with a scrappy performance in the field, but Ecclestone’s two wickets in three balls – she snared the potentially explosive Tryon, caught attempting to pull but picking out Nat at deep midwicket for just 3 and de Klerk, bowled for a second-ball duck – momentarily derailed South Africa’s final push in the penultimate over.

But then Kapp, the beneficiary of a misfield while on 2, cashed in first off a high full toss by Katherine in the final over which she pulled for a one-bounce four through deep backward square leg. Then she hammered back-to-back fours off the last two balls piercing the gap between cover and mid-off and high over deep midwicket to give the hosts the late lift they needed.