South Africa rebounded from a defeat in their opening clash to pick up their first points of the tournament, beating Pakistan in their second match of the Women’s T20 World Cup in Birmingham on Wednesday night.
The Proteas, who were thumped by Australia last week, got off to a great start against Pakistan, and while they lost their way with the ball, they recovered with the bat to secure a hard fought two-wicket victory.
Chasing 127 runs to win, Annerie Dercksen carried the top order, racking up 52 runs off 35 balls – her second career T20 International half-century – in an innings which included seven fours and two sixes.
And after she was removed by spin bowler Tuba Hassan in the 11th over, middle-order batter Nadine de Klerk stood firm.
Though she didn’t receive much support from her batting partners, De Klerk contributed a crucial 37 runs off 28 deliveries as the SA side reached 127/8 with 19 deliveries to spare.
Pakistan innings
Earlier, after Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat, seam bowler Marizanne Kapp (who took 3/23) ripped through their top order, taking three wickets within the first three overs to have them reeling at 3/14.
And the rest of the frontline attack combined well, while the Proteas fielders snatched a couple of run-outs following some poor decision making from their opposition, pushing the Pakistanis further on the back foot as they were left reeling at 50/8 in the 11th over of their innings.
But the Proteas let things slip, with Pakistan captain Fatima Sana keeping the tail wagging after being bumped down the order.
Coming in at No 8, Sana bashed an unbeaten 55 runs off 38 balls, and she was well supported by Tuba Hassan (23 off 27) as they combined in a 71-run partnership for the ninth wicket, carrying their team to 126/9.
After positioning themselves back in the hunt for a place in the semifinals in the early stages of the opening round, the SA team were set to face India in a crunch clash in Manchester on Sunday.
