South Africa Women delivered a dominant performance to defeat Pakistan by two wickets in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, chasing down a modest 127-run target with 19 balls remaining at Edgbaston on Wednesday.
Batting first, Pakistan set a 127-run target for South Africa with skipper Fatima Sana hitting an unbeaten half-century.
Leading South Africa’s nervy pursuit was top-order batter Dercksen, who top-scored with a brisk 52 off 35 deliveries, laced with seven fours and two sixes, before falling victim to Tuba Hassan in the 11th over.
Following her dismissal, all-rounder Nadine de Klerk took the reins of South Africa’s run chase with a 28-ball 37 and put them just one run away from the target before being dismissed by Pakistan captain Fatima Sana, who later bowled a wide, which capped off a narrow victory for the Proteas.
Skipper Fatima spearheaded Pakistan’s spirited bowling charge with three wickets for just 16 runs in her 2.5 overs, followed by Tuba and Sadia Iqbal with two each, while Nashra Sandhu could make one scalp.
The defeat against the Proteas marks the Girls in Green’s second loss in the 12-team tournament, following their campaign opener against arch-rivals India, where they failed to chase down 171 and were bowled out for 106.
Pakistan captain Fatima Sana’s decision to bat first backfired as the Green Shirts could accumulate 126/9 in their 20 overs despite her valiant half-century at the backend.
The Green Shirts got off to a disastrous start to their innings as Kapp dismissed both their openers, Muneeba Ali and Gull Feroza, zero and one, respectively, in the first over, with three runs on the board.
Kapp struck again in her next over, dismissing top-order batter Ayesha Zafar (nine), while Ayabonga Khaka cleaned up Natalia Pervaiz (four) to reduce Pakistan to 14/4 in 3.2 overs.
Middle-order batters Rameen Shamim (six) and Iram Javed (11) then shared a brief 15-run partnership for the fifth wicket before both got run out in quick succession.
Returning Shabnim Ismail then inflicted another blow to Pakistan’s batting expedition exactly at the halfway mark as she got Aliya Riaz caught at backward point by Sune Luus, while Nashra Sandhu’s run-out on the fourth delivery of the next over reduced them further to 50/8.
Following the slump, Pakistan captain Fatima joined forces with lower-order batter Tuba Hassan, and the duo batted valiantly to put together a 71-run partnership for the ninth wicket, which helped them breach the 120-run barrier.
The sensational partnership culminated with Tuba’s runout on the fourth delivery of the final over as she walked back after scoring a crucial 23 off 27 deliveries with the help of two fours.
Fatima, on the other hand, batted until the end and walked back after top-scoring with an unbeaten 55 off 38 deliveries, studded with six fours and two sixes.
Kapp was the standout bowler for South Africa as she took three wickets for just 23 runs in her four overs, while Ismail and Khaka chipped in with one scalp apiece.
