Women’s World Cup T20: South Africa survive Pakistan scare after Fatima Sana’s heroic all-round show

South Africa beat Pakistan by 2 wickets. (Pic credit: Proteas Women) South Africa held their nerve in a dramatic finish to see off Pakistan by two wickets in a low-scoring thriller to open their Women’s T20 World Cup account with a hard-fought victory. What looked like a routine chase turned into a tense match as Pakistan’s spinners almost staged a remarkable comeback after an inspiring all-round performance by captain Fatima Sana.

Pakistan recover from 50/8 through skipper Fatima Sana

Pakistan looked headed for collapse after South Africa’s pace attack tore through the top order and reduced them to 50/8 on a slow surface. Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail set the tone brilliantly, Kapp striking with the very first ball of the innings.However, Captain Fatima Sana refused to give up. With remarkable poise, she forged a 71-run partnership with Tuba Hassan to save Pakistan from disaster. Fatima’s fighting half-century not only lifted her side to 126 but also made her the first captain to score a fifty and take three wickets in a Women’s T20 World Cup match.“We tried to take the game deep because we know we have the skills to do it,” Fatima said after the match. “The fight was there and the effort was there, but we just couldn’t finish the game.

Dercksen and de Klerk lead the Proteas through a tight chase

South Africa’s chase got off to a shaky start when skipper Laura Wolvaardt flew out uncharacteristically while attempting a sweep. Annerie Dercksen then went on the counter-attack, picking up 21 runs from Shamim and later scoring a valuable half-century.However, Pakistan kept attacking. The dismissals of Dercksen and Kapp in quick succession sparked another collapse as the lower-order Proteas struggled under pressure.Nadine de Klerk played a crucial cameo to take South Africa to the brink of victory before falling to level scores. Pakistan were still two wickets away from victory but Fatima Sana’s wide ended the game and denied them a memorable victory.

Wolvaardt was relieved after the nervy victory

South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt admitted her team was not at its best.“It’s all about the points in the bag today,” she said. “It was a bit scratchy and not as we would have liked, but there are still a lot of positives to take from it.”

Was it exciting to watch the low scoring nature of the match?

She praised her new bowlers, adding: “Kappie was outstanding and I thought Shabnim was great today as well. It was nice to have them in tandem up front to prepare the innings.”