South Africa 127 for 8 (Dercksen 52, de Klerk 37, Sana 3-16) beat Pakistan 126 for 9 (Sana 55*, Kapp 3-23, Ismail 1-15) by two wickets
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 Marizanne 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.
Pakistan’s self-destruct button
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.
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