Alana King has produced the greatest spell in women’s ODI World Cup history to lead Australia to a thumping win over South Africa, setting up a blockbuster semi-final against hosts India.

The Proteas entered the game at Indore’s Holkar Stadium with a strong record against leg-spin at this tournament, but they were left in tatters when King took 7-18 in seven overs as Australia bowled their rivals out for 97.

Beth Mooney (42) and Georgia Voll (38no) then led the chase as Australia reached their target with seven wickets in hand and 33 overs to spare.

The emphatic win mean Australia completed the round-robin stage of the tournament undefeated, setting up a semi-final against India at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium on Thursday.

South Africa will face England in the other semi-final in Guwahati on Wednesday.

Saturday’s game was billed as a top-of-the-table clash between two in-form teams who had won five straight games this tournament.

But Australia wrapped up victory in just over three hours as King went on a rampage, continuing her outrageous recent run of form.

Her figures of 7-18 were the best ever taken by an Australian woman – eclipsing Ellyse Perry’s 7-22 against England in Canterbury in 2019 – and the best taken by any woman at an ODI World Cup.  

It was one of those spells that, for those fortunate enough to be in attendance, will live on as an ‘I was there moment’. 

Put into bat by stand-in Australia captain Tahlia McGrath, as Alyssa Healy sat out a second consecutive match with a calf strain, Laura Wolvaardt (31 off 26) got the Proteas off to a spritely start hitting seven boundaries in the first six overs.

But after she miscued a shot off Megan Schutt in the seventh and King dove forward to take a low catch at short mid-wicket, the game drastically changed.

Kim Garth accounted for fellow opener Tazmin Brits, who had laboured her way to six from 19 when she was trapped lbw. 

Then, King entered the fray. Brought on to bowl the 12th over, she struck second ball when Sune Luus (6) looked to slog sweep the leg-spinner but only succeeded in finding Annabel Sutherland on the inner ring.

Marizanne Kapp (0) was caught slashing at a well-flighted delivery four balls later.

The Proteas had slipped from 0-32 to 4-43 but King was only just getting started.

She bowled Annerie Dercksen with one that didn’t turn, then had Chloe Tryon caught at midwicket a ball later, and just 15 balls into her spell, had the remarkable figures of 4-0.

Nadine de Klerk fended away the hat-trick delivery, but as the shellshocked Proteas seemingly decided the best form of defence was to keep attacking, it was inevitable the wickets would keep tumbling.

Sinalo Jafta (29 off 17) struck back-to-back fours off King but was bowled next delivery, then Masabata Klaas suffered the same fate, done over by a ripping leg-break that knocked off stump out of the ground.

Ash Gardner chimed in with the ninth wicket, but King was not to be denied her seventh, drawing a couple of edges that just evaded the slips before castling the in-form de Klerk with arguably her best ball of the day, a superb delivery that pitched on leg stump then spun to take the top of off. 

De Klerk, in career-best best form with the bat, was left staring bewildered at her stumps.  

King walked from the field holding the ball aloft, trying to comprehend the madness of the preceding hour. 

“It’s a good feeling, I love trying to put Australia into a good position,” King said on broadcast.

“I wouldn’t say a lot has changed with my bowling … if anything I have just tried to become more consistent with my stock ball and trust that.

“And it’s given me the reward.”

King is the third Australian woman to take a seven-wicket haul in ODIs and, in a neat twist of fate, the first two – Perry and Australian coach Shelley Nitschke – were also in attendance at Holkar Stadium.

A superb new-ball spell from Marizanne Kapp, which saw her send down three overs without conceding a run, then made life temporarily difficult for Australia’s top-order in the chase.

She had Phoebe Litchfield caught at slip for five, while the pressure she created forced Perry into slashing at a wider one from Klaas at the other end, caught for a six-ball duck.

But Mooney, as she so often does, took control of the chase, only falling for 42 when Australia were 11 runs away from their target. 

Australia will now fly to Mumbai early on Sunday morning, where they will begin preparations for Thursday’s semi-final at DY Patil Stadium.

The key question hanging over the Australian camp is the fitness of captain Healy, whose recovery from a minor calf strain is said to be a ‘day-to-day process’.  

2025 Women’s ODI World Cup

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

Australia’s group stage matches

October 1: Australia beat New Zealand by 89 runs

October 4: v Sri Lanka: Abandoned without a ball bowled

October 8: Australia beat Pakistan by 107 runs

October 12: Australia beat India by 3 wickets

October 16: Australia beat Bangladesh by 10 wickets

October 22: Australia beat England by 6 wickets

October 25: Australia beat South Africa by 7 wickets

Finals

Semi-final 1: South Africa v England, Guwahati, October 29, 8:30pm AEDT

Semi-final 2: Australia v India, Mumbai, October 30, 8:30pm AEDT

Final: Mumbai, November 2, 8:30pm AEDT

All matches to be broadcast exclusively live and free on Prime Video.