Laura Wolvaardt knew it, even if India wouldn't hear of it and Australia threw in a couple of doubtful moments. The 2026 T20 World Cup group phase fittingly ended in an enthralling contest between two heavyweights of the game with Australia on top and India knocked out.
Wolvaardt, South Africa's captain, had as much riding on the match as her Indian counterpart, Harmanpreet Kaur. Having scrapped to victory against Bangladesh in the curtain-raiser, Wolvaardt led a group of Proteas players who remained at Lord's to watch Australia take on India. A win for India would end South Africa's campaign, a loss would put her side through.
"I'm feeling pretty relaxed," Wolvaardt said in her post-match press conference minutes before the Australia-India match began. "I think Australia have got this in the bag."
The South African faces in that viewing area looked far from relaxed - what you could see of them peeking out from under pulled-down caps and anxiously parted fingers - as Australia inched towards a hard-fought victory in their first real test of the tournament. And what a test it was.
India threw everything into this match from setting Australia a record run chase of 171, which involved Jemimah Rodrigues retiring out after smashing six off Annabel Sutherland to get Richa Ghosh in the middle for the last over, although it was Harmanpreet who did the damage with three sixes in a row off Sophie Molineux.
During the latter stages of India's batting innings, Australia made some rare fielding errors as the pressure built and India turned it right up at the start of the reply when Renuka Singh rapped opener Georgia Voll on the back leg with a nip-backer that would have hit the top of leg stump second ball.
Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield were controlled in their 50-run partnership but after they both fell, Australia were 68 for 3 in the 10th over and looking far from assured. That's when Ellyse Perry and Ash Gardner united for a century stand off just 59 balls to take Australia to within three runs of victory with eight balls remaining - and South Africa could breathe again.
Such was the intensity of the match, though, they would have been forgiven for waiting until Georgia Wareham thumped a four down the ground off N Shree Charani with an over to spare before finally exhaling.
Perry came into the tournament having played in all 10 editions but without reaching fifty in any of them. Then came two in a row, her 38-ball 56 against India on Sunday following her maiden T20 World Cup half-century five days earlier against Pakistan in Leeds, where she scored 71 off 48.
"Walking into today's match we knew that was going to be the biggest test so far against such a great side playing for a lot today in terms of the context of the competition," Perry said. "For us to absorb a lot of the pressure that we did and then still come out and play with a bit of freedom at important times in the match when it really counted was awesome.
"A real feature of our tournament so far is that every player has played a really important role and has really embraced that at different points in time. It looks like people are having a lot of fun as well. Today was a great test and really nice to come through it the way we did."
On Sunday in front of 27,163 spectators, the vast majority of them supporting India, she and Gardner set about trying to attack the bowlers within the first two balls of each over. It served them well and Gardner finished unbeaten on 53 striking at 182.75.
"The way that Ash came out and her approach to her innings was really important in the context of the game," Perry said. "She shifted the momentum beautifully.
"If you can wrestle the momentum in an over at the start when you're batting, it makes it really hard for the bowler to defend the last three or four balls, so that was a real feature and highlight of Ash's innings and probably the blueprint that we went about with the chase."
Emerging from the group stages unbeaten firmly positions Australia and England as favourites to meet in the final next Sunday. They play West Indies on Tuesday and South Africa on Thursday respectively in the semi-finals, both sides who had to rely on other results to go their way to reach the knockouts.
The way in which Australia withstood India's pressure test arguably enhanced their credentials. But Perry dismissed any suggestion her side had a psychological edge over England, who have reinvented themselves under new head coach Charlotte Edwards following failed campaigns at the 2024 T20 World Cup and the Ashes the following year.
"I wouldn't have thought Lottie would let that happen," Perry said. "Those girls are extremely talented and great players.
"They're also playing in their home conditions and aren't playing in Australia with scary spiders and snakes," she added with a grin.
"I don't think anyone's favourite in T20 cricket. I would imagine that England is favourite amongst the home supporters and they're playing some great cricket. That's what you want for the competition so it's still wide open."
West Indies have reached the semi-finals for a second successive time, despite losing to England and Ireland in the group stages. South Africa, the three-time runners up from the last three World Cups across formats, overcame a heavy opening defeat at the hands of Australia to record nervy wins against Pakistan and Bangladesh either side of beating India and Netherlands.
But, if Australia supporters went into today's match with doubts about their side - who hold no global silverware at present - perhaps they should have been more like Wolvaardt, relaxed, and told themselves: "In Laura we trust."