South Africa women kept their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup semifinal dreams alive with a hard-fought, four-wicket victory over a resilient Bangladesh woman at Lord’s. In a low-scoring thriller that went down to the final over, the Proteas successfully chased a target of 118. They will now hope for an Australian win in the last match of the group stage to keep India to just 6 points. With 8 points already to their name, South Africa women will ensure a semi-final against England eventually.
South Africa’s accurate bowling restricts Bangladesh to a low score
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Bangladesh found it incredibly difficult to break free from the shackles early on. South Africa’s veteran all-rounder Marizanne Kapp set the tone beautifully with a disciplined, economical opening spell, removing opener Juairiya Ferdous with the first delivery of the match.
The South African bowling unit strangled the scoring rates, leaving Bangladesh reeling at 23/2 at the end of the powerplay. Sobhana Mostary played the role of an anchor, adding patient 42 off 48 deliveries. She combined with Sharmin Akhter to orchestrate a brief recovery, guiding Bangladesh to 70/2 by the 15th over. However, regular breakthroughs in the death overs by South Africa’s accurate attack restricted Bangladesh to a modest 117/5. Nigar Sultana Joty meanwhile played a handy innings of 32 off 20 with 4 boundaries and a six.
South Africa women claim an important win after a thrilling chase
South Africa’s response did not start well. Marufa Akter also got a wicket on the first ball and dismissed the skipper, Laura Wolvaardt. Despite the early blow, South Africa women recovered well, managing 40 runs in the powerplay. Opener Tazmin Brits and Annerie Dercksen put together a crucial 50-run stand, absorbing the pressure and accumulating runs seamlessly.
Dercksen top scored with a calculated 45 off 45. Her sensible rotation of strike with timely boundaries kept the required run-rate well within reach. Just as South Africa appeared to cruise toward victory, Bangladesh’s spin-heavy bowling unit initiated a late-game collapse by picking up two back-to-back wickets in the 9th and the 10th over.
The experienced Marizanne Kapp once again proved to be the ultimate clutch player in a crunch situation. Keeping her head cool under extreme pressure, she and Nadine de Klerk kept adding key runs. As a result, despite losing both in the later stages of the match, South Africa women completed the chase with 4 wickets in hand and 4 balls to spare.
The Proteas with this win, are now a step closer to securing a semifinal spot from Group A. On the other hand, Bangladesh women exit after a spirited performance on the world stage.
Brief Scores: Bangladesh Women 117/5 (Nigar Sultana 32*, Sobhana Mostary 42; Nonkululeko Mlaba 2-22) lost to South Africa Women 118/6 in 19.2 overs (Annerie Dercksen 45, Tazmin Brits 20; Nahida Akter 2-24) by four wickets.
Player of the Match: Marizanne Kapp
For more news & updates, follow The Crichub on X and YouTube
