Captain Mithali Raj knows it will be a special occasion for her and Jhulan Goswami when India plays its second ICC World Cup Final, 12 years after losing their showpiece event.

India was beaten by Australia back in 2005 but banished those demons by knocking out the reigning World Cup winner in a dramatic semi-final in Derby. That 36-run win earned India a spot at the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 final where it will face host England in front of a sold-out at the home of cricket in London.

Australia might have entered the game as reigning champion but India proved you should never write off the underdog after booking its place in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 final with an emphatic 36-run victory.

India will now play host England on Sunday in front of a sell-out crowd at Lord’s – it’s first ICC Women’s World Cup final appearance since 2005.

England edged South Africa by two wickets in a thrilling semi-final match that went down to the last over in Bristol on Tuesday. The hosts will play the winners of the second semi-final between India and Australia at Lord's on Sunday.

South Africa were restricted to a modest 218/6 at the end of their innings after winning the toss and electing to bat first. The main contributions came from Mignon du Preez (76*) and Laura Wolvaardt (66), whose half-centuries came as the side lost big hitters, Lizelle Lee (7), captain Dane van Niekerk (27) and Chloe Tryon (1).

Tammy Beaumont says England’s victory over South Africa earlier in the group stage of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 will count for nothing when the two sides face each other in the semi-final in Bristol.

England has won six WWC games in a row – including a 68-run victory over South Africa – following its opening defeat by India. South Africa has won four, lost two and had one game washed out due to rain. But with a place in the Lord’s final the prize for Tuesday’s winner, Beaumont says both teams go into the game with a clean slate. 

Australia will face India in the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup after beating South Africa by 59 runs in their final league game at Taunton to finish second in the eight-team league.

Beth Mooney, Nicole Bolton and Ellyse Perry all struck half-centuries for the Southern Stars with Sune Luus taking five wickets as Australia was all out for 269 in 48.3 overs.

A sixth career century by Mitahli Raj and a maiden five-for by left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad steered India into its third ICC Women’s World Cup semi-final with a convincing 186-run victory over New Zealand on the last day of the round matches in Derby on Saturday.

India’s victory and South Africa’s 59-run loss to Australia in Taunton meant India finished third on the points table behind host England and defending champion Australia (England finished ahead of Australia on Net Run-Rate). South Africa ended up fourth, while New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Pakistan finished in the second half of the eight-team tournament and will now take early flights home.

Captain Dane van Niekerk wants South Africa to target a fast start in its final round robin match of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 against Australia.

The Proteas, already qualified for the semi-final stages with a game to play, will hope to gain a psychological advantage over its opposition on Saturday in case they meet in the last four.

Captain, Dané van Niekerk and Shabnim Ismail took seven wickets between them, setting up an eight-wicket victory for the Momentum Proteas in their must-win, ICC Women’s World Cup match against Sri Lanka at the County Ground in Taunton on Wednesday. This win means that the South Africans have qualified for the semi-finals of the tournament for only the second time ever. The last time the team achieved this feat was at the 2000 edition of the competition.

Van Niekerk is delighted with this accomplishment, she said, “This is what we have been working so many years for and I’m so proud of the team for all the work they have put in. We can tick this box now and celebrate the fact that we have achieved one of our objectives going into the competition with a match to spare.