KUALA LUMPUR: Australia will look to bounce back from their shock defeat to Sri Lanka when they face South Africa in the semi-finals of the Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup at Bayuemas Oval in Klang on Friday.
On Wednesday, Australia lost by 12 runs to Sri Lanka in a Super Six match.
South Africa, who finished sixth in the 2023 edition, remain unbeaten in the tournament.
In the other semi-final, England will seek to avenge their defeat to unbeaten India in the 2023 final.
Australia captain Lucy Hamilton, making her second tournament appearance, believes her team can recover and reach the final.
"We are excited and looking forward to getting out there against South Africa," Hamilton told ICC.cricket.com.
"South Africa have good spinners, and we need to adapt and find ways to overcome them."
None of the Australian batters have scored a half-century so far, with 15-year-old Caoimhe Bray the only Australian player among the tournament's top 10 run-scorers.
India, led by captain Niki Prasad, are considered favourites after a dominant campaign.
Trisha Gongadi, playing in her second World Cup, is in superb form, having scored the tournament's first-ever century with an unbeaten 110 off 59 balls against Scotland in a 150-run victory on Tuesday.
India's Vaishnavi Sharma is the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 12 dismissals in seven matches at an average of 2.33. Teammate Aayushi Shukla is second with 10 wickets.
England will need to produce their best performance to end India's unbeaten run.
England's Davina Perrin is the tournament's second-highest run-scorer with 131 runs.
Fixtures
Semi-finals
Friday
South Africa v Australia (10.30am), India v England (2.30pm).
* Both matches at Bayuemas Oval, Klang
** Final on Feb 2 (2.30pm) at Bayuemas Oval.