Meg Lanning delivered yet another clutch captain's knock for Australia at the SCG on Thursday night, posting her highest score of this Twenty20 World Cup to set the platform for a five-run victory.
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Lanning's unbeaten 49 ushered Australia out of trouble in their semi-final against South Africa.
The player of the match then snaffled two catches and rotated her bowlers superbly, with the tactical masterclass in tricky conditions piloting Australia into a sixth T20 World Cup final.
"I love winning and I want to help us win as much as I can. It was a grind today, I don't think I ever really got going," Lanning said.
"It's not my most fluent knock but it was nice to be able to contribute.
"Pretty relieved, excited at the opportunity that is coming up ... it's certainly up there (with the most stressful days of her career)."
It came after a tournament in which Lanning, who now has a chance to join Lyn Larsen and Michael Clarke as the only captains to win a World Cup on home soil, failed to produce her best.
Lanning's frustration after her dismissal in Australia's final pool game against New Zealand, when an attempted sweep shot went awry and the prospect of her team missing out on a semi-final spot loomed large, was notable.
It was a rare show of emotion from the no-nonsense superstar, nicknamed 'Serious Sally' by teammates because she is renowned for a level head as much as her mountain of runs.
But Lanning has a knack of lifting when it matters most and that trend continued in Sydney, where her run-a-ball effort was exactly what her side needed after slipping to 4-71 in the 11th over.
The hosts reshuffled their order yet again in the tournament but Lanning, who had long been considered the world's best batter but was fifth on the latest T20 rankings, remained at first drop.
It proved the right call.
The 27-year-old marched to the crease with purpose in the fifth over, when the scoreboard read 1-34 after Alyssa Healy chipped a catch to Dane van Niekerk at midwicket.
A missed stumping opportunity, when the right-hander was on 24, was one of few missteps during an innings that oozed composure.
The match-winning effort, which guided Lanning's team to a total of 5-134, would come as no surprise to those who have followed her work closely.
Lanning has now helped herself to 332 runs from nine T20 World Cup knockout-stage matches; no player in the world has been anywhere near as prolific.
Australian Associated Press
