Captain Fatima Sana's heroic all-round performance, which included an unbeaten 55 with the bat and figures of 3-16 with the ball, went in vain as South Africa edged past Pakistan by a mere two wickets in Match 11 of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026. The match was held at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham on Wednesday evening. Chasing a target of 127 runs, South Africa achieved the goal with 19 balls to spare.
Pakistan's Innings
Pakistan were reduced to 14 for four inside the fourth over after Marizanne Kapp removed both opening batters in the first over and struck thrice in the powerplay. Three run-outs compounded the damage as Pakistan slipped to 50 for eight inside 11 overs. From there, Fatima and Tuba Hassan (23 off 27 balls, including two fours) added 71 runs for the ninth wicket—the highest ninth-wicket partnership in ICC Women's T20 World Cup history and the second highest in Women's T20Is.
Fatima's unbeaten 55 came off 38 balls, featuring six fours and two sixes. She hit two sixes on consecutive balls in the last over off Nadine de Klerk to bring up her third WT20I fifty off 35 balls. She registered the highest score by a player batting at number eight or lower in ICC Women's T20 World Cups.
South Africa's Chase
Chasing 127, South Africa moved to 76 for two as Annerie Dercksen struck 52 off 35 balls, including seven fours and two sixes. Fatima drew the first blood in the second over, while Tuba snapped Laura Wolvaardt in the seventh over. With Marizanne Kapp (10) and Dercksen putting on a 23-run stand, threatening to take the game away, Nashra got the former stumped, while Tuba bowled the set batter Dercksen through the legs.
From there, Pakistan kept chipping away to drag the contest closer as Sadia Iqbal struck twice in the middle overs. She got rid of Chloe Tryon caught behind in the 13th over and Kayla Reyneke caught by Fatima in the 15th over to reduce South Africa to 107 for six. With South Africa requiring two runs to win, Fatima bowled Sinalo Jafta with the total on 125 for seven before getting Nadine de Klerk (37 off 28 balls, including six fours) caught behind.
Fatima's All-Round Feat
Fatima became the first captain to score a fifty and take three wickets in the same match across all 10 ICC Women's T20 World Cups. She removed Sune Luus, Nadine de Klerk, and Sinalo Jafta during the chase.
Upcoming Match
Pakistan will now take on Bangladesh at the Hampshire Bowl in Southampton on Saturday, 20 June, in a day game with the first ball set to be bowled at 2:30 PM local time (6:30 PM Pakistan time).
