A game that began with the prospect of a chastening defeat for Pakistan at South Africa’s hands did, indeed, end in defeat, but that didn’t quite tell the whole story.

South Africa savagely tore through Pakistan’s batting line-up, reducing them to 55 for 8 and setting up what looked like a run-rate boosting win. But Fatima Sana’s half-century, an unbeaten 38-ball 55, enabled Pakistan to scrap their way back into the contest, and put up 126.

That was still well below par, and a blistering half-century from Annerie Dercksen set South Africa on course. Instead Pakistan kept taking enough wickets to keep themselves in contention till late on, only for poor fielding to leave them swimming against the tide. South Africa eventually sealed a nervy win with two wickets and three overs to spare.

South Africa set the tone from the very first ball of the game, when Matizanne Kapp trapped Muneeba Ali in front. She finished the over with a gem of a ball that went through bat and pad after holding its line, and crashed into the top of Gull Feroza’s middle and off stumps.

It was only the start of the carnage South Africa were wreaking, with Kapp hobbling Ayesha Zafar with a yorker that landed on her foot in front of the stumps, while Ayabonga Khaka goaded Natalia Pervaiz into dragging on in the over that followed. Pakistan’s tendency to self-destruct with no fewer than four run-outs did not help, even if Sana’s brilliance gave them a total they could defend.

For four overs during the chase, they looked like that defence was very much on. South Africa were kept to just 20, while the irrepressible Sana had sent Sune Luus back. But Dercksen came in and blew Pakistan away through the middle overs with a devastating onslaught, kicking things off with 21 in an over off Rameen Shamim, punctuated by abysmal fielding from Pakistan. That was a theme running through the innings – Sana herself even put down two chances – but regular wickets kept Pakistan in with an outside chance.

However, just when the pressure began to tell, South Africa always found a way out with a boundary or a cameo. Even with the scores tied, Sana struck to remove Nadine de Klerk, the last recognised batter, leaving South Africa eight-down. However, as was the case throughout the game, Pakistan were their own worst enemy, with a stray wide down leg sealing the game for a relieved South African side.

It was bad enough for Pakistan that Kapp, and South Africa, were tearing through their line-up, but Pakistan gave them a helping hand with those four run-outs. Three of them were especially farcical, and were dotted around at key points during the innings just as they were beginning to rebuild.

The first to fall this way was Shamim, who watched the ball rather than her strike partner Iram Javed, before bizarrely turning around and giving Javed an earful after she was inevitably caught short. Javed might not have been at fault there, but then fell to an even more egregious bit of running, setting off for one after a routine clip to short midwicket rendered it virtually impossible. Completing the set was Nashra Sandhu, who was unlucky when her partner Sana tripped over the bowler, with Sandhu sacrificing herself. By now, Pakistan were 55 for 8.

Fatima Sana’s stunning innings

Sana could perhaps have pushed herself up the order, but she set about making up for lost time in a remarkable onslaught that somehow dragged her side back into the game. By the 15th over, Pakistan languished at 80 for 8, looking nowhere near able to put together even a remotely competitive score. But having taken the innings deep, Sana sprang her attack right at the death, kicking it off with a boundary off Kapp’s final delivery. With South Africa’s premier bowler out of the way, she unleashed in the overs that followed, culminating in a brutal final-over raid to plunder 19 off the over and power Pakistan to 126. It brought up her own half-century, with 42 runs coming off the innings final 19 balls.

Dercksen devastates Pakistan

As Sana batted on a different wicket to her teammates, Dercksen’s comfort was wholly at odds with the other batters’ nerves. When Pakistan threatened to turn the chase into a horrible scrap, she changed the complexion of the match with some of the cleanest power-hitting at this tournament. Shamim was taken to the cleaners in the fifth over as Dercksen used her bottom hand to repeatedly clear the mid-on and midwicket boundary, with her two sixes the biggest shots of the night from either team.

In between, she continued to expertly find the gaps, especially in the Powerplay, and take pressure off Laura Wolvaardt and Kapp at the other end. By the time she contributed her last run, South Africa needed just 51 in 63 with eight wickets in hand. It was a position of comfort that, even with South Africa’s jitters later on, they could not squander.

SCORES:
South Africa Women  127 for 8 in 16.5 overs  (Annerie Dercksen 52, Marizanne Kapp 10, Nadine de Klerk 37; Sadia Iqbal 2-26, Fatima  Sana 3-16, Nashra Sandhu 1-28, Tuba Hassan 2-28) beat Pakistan Women  126 for 9 in 20 overs (Iram Javed 11, Aliya Riaz 10, Fatima Sana 55*, Tuba Hasan 23; Marizanne Kapp 3-23, Shabnim  Ismail 1-15, Ayabonga Khaka 1-21)  by two wickets

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Australia gave themselves another significant net run-rate boost by dispatching Bangladesh with ease at Headingley, restricting them to 77 for 8 before chasing down the runs with more than 10 overs to spare.

The game followed an expected pattern, especially after Australia had been able to bowl first in helpful conditions on a surface that nibbled around for the seamers, but this was another statement performance. Kim Garth set the tone with a brace of early wickets and was well backed up by Ellyse Perry although success was shared around.

Bangladesh could only manage six boundaries in their 20 overs and, while always facing an enormous task, may regret not being a little bolder even after falling to 27 for 5 in the eighth over. “We are better than that,” captain Nigar Sultana, who top-scored with 27 off 47 balls, said after the match.

The chase was just a matter of how quickly Australia could get it done and after taking a few balls to find her stride, Georgia Voll peppered the boundary – collecting as many fours in 32 deliveries (six) as Bangladesh had managed in their entire innings.

Australia had been selecting from just 13 fit players at the start of the game after Phoebe Litchfield was ruled out with a quad injury and Ashleigh Gardner an ankle strain.

Many swing and seam bowlers have enjoyed Headingley over the years, and it did not take long for Garth to have an impact on a chilly morning where the sun was reluctant to make an early appearance. Dilara Akter swiped across the line in the second over and Juairiya Ferdous, who made such an impression against Netherlands, was beaten by one which straightened as she, too, aimed to leg.

At the other end the recalled Megan Schutt was a fraction short with her inswingers, but Sophie Molineux followed her first-over wicket against South Africa with another when Sharmin Akhter was lbw, having been saved by the DRS against Molineux’s opening delivery which was missing leg.

Molineux then had a hand in Perry’s first wicket with a sharp catch at short cover to pluck out Sobhana Mostary’s drive. By the end of her first over Perry had two to her name when a nip-backer pinned Shorna Akter lbw. Perry, who is used less frequently with the ball these days, went on to bowl three overs for the first time in a T20I since January 2024.

Perry’s double strike left Bangladesh 27 for 5 in the eighth over and with the possibility of being bowled out. That was prevented by a stand of 32 between Nigar and Ritu Moni although there was never any scoring pressure on Australia.

Molineux rotated through various pace and spin combinations with legspinners Georgia Wareham and Alana King sharing four overs between them. Such are the plethora of options at Molineux’s disposal that Nicola Carey, a skillful swing bowler who would no doubt have enjoyed these conditions, has yet to bowl in the tournament.

After taking a few deliveries to get used to the pace of the pitch and Marufa Akter’s inswing, Voll made swift inroads into the small chase. Her first boundary was a six down the ground off Marufa and there were further shots in the ‘V’ which showcased her power, getting her tournament up and running after the duck against South Africa.

Beth Mooney was the only wicket to fall, well held at mid-off by a diving Moni to give Marufa a deserved wicket as she bowled her four overs straight through. Australia will hope their injury concerns ease in the coming days but they have given themselves early breathing space in the race for a semi-final spot.

SCORES:
Australia Women  78 for 1 in 9.3 overs (Georgia Voll 45*, Beth Mooney 10, Ellyse Perry 19*; Marufa Akter 1–28) beat Bangladesh Women  77 for 8 in 20 overs (Nigar Sultana 27, Ritu Moni 16; Kim Garth 2-18, Sophie Molineux 2-14, Ellyse Perry 2-14, Annabel Sutherland 1-08, Georgia Wareham 1-06) by nine wickets

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In overcast Headingley conditions, an all-round performance from Shafali Verma, who scored her first fifty at a T20 World Cup, then took 3 for 20, headlined a 95-run win for India.  India were meeting Netherlands for the first time in a women’s T20I, and their pedigree on the big stage proved too much for a Netherlands outfit fresh off a close final-over finish against Bangladesh on Sunday. There would be no close contest here.

Put in to bat first, India tonked their way to 209 for 5 – their highest-ever total at a T20 World Cup, Smriti Mandhana top-scoring with a 47-ball 74. Then, Shree Charani’s  spell of 4 for 19 polished off a spirited Netherlands batting effort for 114.

India sealed their second consecutive win, zooming past Australia to the top of Group 1, courtesy a higher net run-rate. Netherlands, on the other hand, remain winless.

Shafali and Mandhana set the tone for India when they put on a 115-run opening partnership. Their stand was a study in illusion. On the pitch, they kept their shots grounded, barely taking any risks against the Netherlands bowlers through the 11.4 overs they spent in the middle together. On the scorecard, they still ticked away at a run-rate close to 10 per over.

In part, this was because of the unforced errors by the Netherlands bowlers. They frequently missed their radar, with Myrthe van den Raad bowling a 12-ball over, featuring seven runs off extras. However, it was emblematic of Netherlands’ performance with ball in hand that she still ended up conceding just 11 off the over. When she was not spraying wides down leg, she stuck to the good length area. In total, Netherlands gave away 16 runs in extras.

Shafali began upping the run rate by taking the aerial route. She brought up a 34-ball fifty – it was her first at a T20 World Cup, having made her debut in the tournament six years ago. Still, she had to depart soon after, against the run of play, when she holed out to long-on in the 12th over, mistiming a pull off Heather Siegers.

Netherlands had already racked up extras in the double-digits, and then, they dropped three chances to let India get away to an insurmountable total in the final four overs of the contest.

In the 11th over, Shafali had been dropped at cover, on the ball she got to her fifty. More missed chances were to come for Netherlands, who had mounted a mini-comeback: Caroline de Lange plucked out Mandhana at the end of the 16th over, then at the start of the 17th, van den Raad got Jemimah Rodrigues edging behind on the scoop.

At this point, India were 162 for 3. van den Raad looked set to put her extras troubles further behind her with a second wicket in the 17th, when Richa Ghosh bunted an edge up in the air. However, Phebe Molkonboer – running in from extra cover – shelled the catch right next to the stumps. Off the same delivery, with no fielder backing up the stumps, Netherlands missed out on a run-out chance at the non-striker’s end as well.

Two more drops ensued: Silver Siegers dropped Ghosh in the 18th over, the ball bursting through her hands and going for four. Then in the final over, Harmanpreet Kaur was put down by Robine Rijke at mid-off. Ghosh took full toll of her second chance, scoring an unbeaten 8-ball 20, as India ransacked 41 runs off the last three overs.

You could not fault Netherlands for their bravery with bat in hand. Opener Heather Siegers scored four fours during her 16-ball 21. She boshed drives through the ‘V’, even stepping deep into the off side at one point to Shafali in the fourth over, pulling her to long leg in a display of power and timing.

However, India’s spinners combined on a pitch that kept low and slow through the second innings to keep a stranglehold on the Netherlands batting line-up. Molkenboer, the other opener, played pristine drives of her own, but more often, failed to time her shots past a packed covers cordon. In the end, she perished on 15 off 20 in the eighth over, Netherlands just about going at a run a ball.

One of India’s spinners, however, had her day on the field cut short by an unfortunate ankle injury. In the sixth over, Molkonboer timed an on-drive to Shreyanka Patil’s right, where she went to field the delivery but ended up twisting her right ankle. In the end, she had to be stretchered off the field, and played no further part in the contest.

Even as the required rate ballooned past the realm of the plausible, Netherlands’ batters skipped down the track to attack India’s bowlers. Captain Babette de Leede was stumped a long way out of her ground, looking to loft Nandani Sharma down the ground. Sterre Kalis, too, heard her stumps rattle when she swung across the wrong line against Shafali, whose slow deliveries through the air kept puzzling the opposition.

Netherlands’ wickets kept falling in the same vein post the halfway mark of their chase. Batting against Shree Charani, Frederique Overdijk holed out to long-on, Rijke was pinned lbw looking for an extravagant sweep, and Iris Zwilling was out looking for a slog sweep too, handing the India left-arm spinner a fourth wicket.

Netherlands collapsed in the end, losing their last five wickets for just one run in the space of nine deliveries. Fittingly, with just one wicket left to take, Shafali was the one with ball in hand when Isabel van der Woning looked to swing down the ground. Rodrigues ran in from long-on to complete an excellent catch and take India to the top of their table.

SCORES:
India Women 209 for 5 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 74, Shafali Verma  55, Jemimah Rodrigues 19, Richa Ghosh 20*, Harmanpreet Kaur 12, Deepti Sharma 10*; Iris Zwilling 1-41, Heather Siegers 1-31, Myrthe van dem Read 1-37, Caroline de Lange 2-32) beat Netherlands Women  114 in 17.3 overs  (Heather Siegers 21, Phebe Molkenboer 15, Babette de Leede 28, Sterre Kalis 18: Nandani Sharma 2-22, Shree Charani 4-19, Shafali Verma 3-20, Deepti Sharma 1-26) by 95 runs

[Cricinfo]