At Edgbaston’s Group Two clash of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, South Africa fought to their first win of the 2025 tournament, edging past Pakistan by two wickets in a tense, low-scoring encounter that kept their semi-final hopes alive.
Coming into the match, the Proteas – who have reached the final of the last two consecutive T20 World Cups, falling to Australia in 2023 and New Zealand in 2024 – faced an early uphill battle after a crushing opening defeat to tournament favorites Australia. Drawn in one of the competition’s toughest groups that also includes 50-over world champions India, a second loss would have left their campaign on the brink of elimination.
It was 36-year-old veteran all-rounder Marizanne Kapp who set the tone for South Africa’s victory, delivering a devastating opening over that claimed two top-order Pakistani wickets before the first over was even completed. What followed was a string of catastrophic running between the wickets from Pakistan’s batting line-up, which gifted the Proteas three additional run-outs and left the side reeling at 29-5 inside the early overs, and later collapsing to 50-8.
Just when a total well below 100 looked inevitable, Pakistan captain Fatima Sana produced a captain’s innings to drag her side back into contention. Teaming up with last-wicket batter Tuba Hassan for a 71-run ninth-wicket partnership, Fatima smashed an unbeaten 55 off 38 deliveries, including a spectacular final over that saw her hit two sixes off Nadine de Klerk and plunder 19 runs from the six balls. That late blitz pushed Pakistan’s final total to a competitive 126-9 from their 20 overs.
Fatima then turned her impact to the bowling crease, claiming three wickets for just 16 runs to keep South Africa’s chase on the back foot. The Proteas stuttered through the middle overs, losing wickets at regular intervals and making hard work of the modest target, highlighting a persistent vulnerability in their batting order that analysts say will need significant improvement if the side is to compete with Australia and India for one of the group’s top two semi-final spots.
But contributions from the lower order kept South Africa on track: all-rounder Annerie Dercksen anchored the chase with a polished 52 off 35 balls, while de Klerk backed up her bowling with a useful 37 runs from the lower order. The pair guided the Proteas across the finish line in the 17th over (16.4 overs to be exact), securing a two-wicket win with more than three overs to spare.
For Pakistan, the defeat marks their second consecutive loss of the tournament, following a narrow defeat to India on Sunday, leaving them still searching for their first win in this year’s competition. For South Africa, the result resets their campaign, giving the side much-needed momentum ahead of their upcoming group matches as they aim to go one step further than their back-to-back final losses.