STRETFORD: South Africa secured a hard-fought six-wicket victory over India in their recent ICC Women’s T20 World Cup encounter in Manchester.
Batting first, the Indian women’s team posted a competitive total of 158 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their allotted twenty overs, anchored by a solid top-scoring knock of 31 runs from opener Shafali Verma.
South Africa chased down the 158-run target in a tense final over, losing four wickets along the way.
Marizanne Kapp starred for the Proteas with a brilliant, match-winning performance, smashing 81 runs to finish as the top scorer of the match.
This result significantly impacts the Group A standings, where undefeated Australia sits comfortably at the top with six points.
India currently holds the second spot with four points and a strong Net Run Rate of +2.511 after three matches.
South Africa and Bangladesh are closely trailing, both also sitting on four points but carrying negative net run rates.
Meanwhile, Pakistan and the Netherlands have had a challenging tournament, remaining at the bottom of the table without a single point from their initial three fixtures.
Looking ahead at the tournament schedule, Pakistan will try to turn their fortunes around in their upcoming Group A encounters, facing a formidable Australian lineup at Headingley on June 23 before taking on the Netherlands in Bristol on June 27.
For India, the road to the semi-finals remains entirely within their own control despite the setback against South Africa.
India needs a decisive victory in their final group-stage match against Bangladesh on June 25 to secure six points and guarantee their qualification for the knockouts, relying safely on their superior net run rate cushion to fend off any late surges from South Africa.
