South Africa got the better of Bangladesh in Dubai to end the league stage of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 with six points and a net run rate of 1.382. It was the final game of the league stage for both teams, with Bangladesh bowing out of the competition with just a solitary win.

Both teams batted cautiously throughout. Bangladesh only managed to post 106 for 3 in 20 overs, the lowest total made by a side batting their full quota for a loss of three or fewer wickets in a T20 World Cup game. For a large part of the chase, South Africa barely scored at over a run a ball and finally completed their win with just 16 balls to spare; only Tazmin Britts (42 off 41)and Chloe Tryon (14 off 13) scored at a strike rate in excess of 100.

Captain Laura Wolvaardt lost the toss but was happy to bat second to “control NRR while chasing”. At the end of the evening, though, South Africa’s net run rate dipped from 1.527 to 1.382, and they will be left watching nervously as England and West Indies complete their league fixtures over the next few days.

You could not fault Bangladesh’s batting approach after they chose to bat. They lost Dilara Akter in the first over, nibbling an edge to the wicketkeeper, but did not go into a shell. For starters, South Africa surprised many by keeping their fast bowlers on through the powerplay; spin came on only in the eighth over. Shathi Rani tried hard to break the shackles but to no avail. She walked down the track, skipped down, moved around in the crease but couldn’t find a boundary in the first six overs.

She faced 23 balls and played out 18 dots. But she tried attacking shots in 11 of those balls. Rani tried to attack 50% of the balls she faced but had only one four and a six and a strike rate of 63.33 to show. Only Tazmin Brits attacked more balls (16) than Rani (15) in the entire match.

When Rani holed out two balls after hitting her six – a whack over wide long-on, Bangladesh were only 36 for 2 in the eighth over. There was a danger of them finishing with a score under 100 for the second time in three games. But Sobhana Mostary and Nigar Sultana added 45 for the third wicket in 56 balls to help Bangladesh motor along, even if not threaten South Africa with a huge score. Boundaries were hard to come by and so was strike rotation. But they kept at it, and more importantly, frustrated South Africa by not crumbling.

The bowlers tried hard and it was Nonkululeko Mlaba who finally managed to get enough purchase from the pitch to beat a Mostary’s heave and bowl her. It was her ninth wicket in the competition, and she equaled Marizanne Kapp’s  record for most wickets in a single edition of a T20 World Cup for South Africa. In the last two overs, Bangladesh managed to score 23 with Nigar hitting a four and running well between the wickets with Shorna Akter. The pair managed six doubles in the last two overs of the innings to help Bangladesh cross 100.

Brits got off to a fast start, hitting three fours in the first two overs as South Africa were 17 for 0 in two overs. Wolvaardt managed to flick one to the right of mid-on and beat deep midwicket to her left to open her boundary count, using her feet in a bid to put legspinner Fahima Khatun off. But Fahima managed to exact revenge next ball, lobbing one up and deceiving Wolvaardt in flight to get her stump.

Nahida Akter managed to draw a few false strokes – including a leading edge off Brits – in the fourth over while Fahima beat Anneke Bosch twice with a slider. Brits and Bosch could not break free and the pressure almost did the trick for Bangladesh. But Fahima could not hang on to a simple offering at deep midwicket when Brits slogged one straight at her, and parried it away for four. Brits was on a run-a-ball 21 at that point. The next three overs went for 21 before Fahima came back to dismiss Bosch.

By then, Brits had gotten in and South Africa were in control. So much so that even her dismissal in the 14th over did not send jitters in the South African camp. Kapp and Tryon added the finishing touches, even without much swag, to get the job done. South Africa have the points but they will be on the edge concerning their NRR, just the scenario they had set out to avoid when the game began.

Brief scores:
South Africa Women 107 for 3 in 17.2 overs (Tanzim Brits 42, Anneke Bosch 25, Fahima Khatun  2-19, Ritu Moni 1-22) beat Bangladesh Women 106 for 3 in 20 overs (Sobhana Mostary 38, Nigar sultana 32*; Marizanne Kapp 1-10, Annerie Derecksen 1-07, Nonkululeko Mlaba 1-11) by seven wickets

[Cricinfo]