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Old Trafford, Manchester: South Africa pulled off an expertly choreographed chase to beat India by six wickets at Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester on June 21, at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. High-IQ bowling, followed by a mentally unshakable chase led by Tazmin Brits and Marizanne Kapp, sprinkled with a touch of luck, left India speechless and kept South Africa’s hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive.
The “Shafriti” pair got India off to a flying start after Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss on a sunny batting track. The intent suggested India were targeting a score in excess of 200 against the Proteas. However, in a rare moment of misjudgment, Smriti Mandhana’s ambition got the better of her as Marizanne Kapp shattered her stumps while she attempted an unorthodox scoop early in the innings.
Shafali Verma remained on the attack, but a low bouncer from Shabnim Ismail found the edge of her glove and was comfortably collected by Sinalo Jafta behind the stumps. Verma walked off on 31 before the decision was even confirmed, leaving India at 54/2.
Yastika Bhatia looked promising, riding the momentum established by the openers, but Ayabonga Khaka trapped her LBW with an outswinger, and India suddenly realized they were facing their first genuine challenge of the tournament.
Jemimah Rodrigues and Kaur then spent the next few overs trying to rebuild while the run rate gradually dipped. Nadine de Klerk struck with just her second delivery, inducing an edge from Rodrigues for a caught-and-bowled dismissal.
Kaur was playing in her 200th T20 International, a milestone no player, male or female, had ever reached before. She and Deepti Sharma injected some energy into the innings with occasional boundaries as India crossed the 100-run mark.
Unfortunately, the burst proved brief, as Kaur chopped Ismail’s pace back onto her stumps.
Deepti and Richa Ghosh continued to fight, but without the firepower typically associated with the pair, perhaps due to their earlier-than-expected arrival at the crease.
Nonkululeko Mlaba and later Kapp dismissed both batters in similar fashion, inducing mistimed sweeps off slower deliveries that were caught at short fine leg. Prema Rawat and Arundhati Reddy scrambled a few runs in the final over to drag India to 158/7.
South Africa began their chase uncharacteristically slowly, but captain Laura Wolvaardt looked eager as ever to play the role of match-winner, reminding India of her valiant century in the 2025 ODI World Cup final. However, Sree Charani stopped the danger woman before she could settle. Wolvaardt drove straight back to her Delhi Capitals teammate and departed for just 20.
It would not be the last wicket of the over. Annerie Dercksen committed too early to a swing, missed the ball completely, and heard only the sound of her stumps being disturbed.
The pressure mounted on South Africa. Kapp survived a difficult chance on just nine when Nandani Sharma appeared to lose the ball in the sky near the boundary, allowing it to tip over her hand for six. Tazmin Brits then benefited from a fortunate edge that overturned an LBW decision, and together the pair crossed fifty runs for the third wicket to keep South Africa firmly in the contest.
Kapp received another reprieve on 25 when substitute fielder Radha Yadav dropped a chance running in from long-on, unable to get into a comfortable position despite what appeared to be a manageable opportunity.
The two lifelines visibly settled both batters. Kapp and Brits shrugged off the growing pressure and steadily guided South Africa closer to the target.
India desperately needed a breakthrough, and it finally came through Verma. Brits once again targeted deep square leg as she had throughout the innings, but this time Charani completed the catch, ending the opener’s knock on 40 and bringing a 97-run partnership to an end.
The tension inside Old Trafford reached its peak, and unbelievably, Yadav dropped Kapp yet again, this time a far more straightforward chance that went directly into her hands at long-on.
Charani refused to relent, claiming her third wicket of the day and tenth of the tournament by bowling de Klerk. Yet the match was far from over.
Kapp made India pay for every missed opportunity, finishing unbeaten on 81 and steering South Africa across the line with five balls to spare.
What We Learned
A Growing Middle-Order Concern?
Now that Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma have begun to rediscover their rhythm at the top, India’s concerns have shifted toward the middle order.
The dilemma between Yastika Bhatia’s more conservative approach and Bharthi Fulmali’s power-hitting, Rodrigues’ lack of form, and Kaur’s subdued strike rates have all been recurring themes across India’s first three matches. Solving those issues may not be as straightforward as it appears.
It would be easy to simply say that Kaur and Rodrigues need to score more runs, but there needs to be a deeper understanding of their current roles and capabilities within the batting lineup.
Kaur remains vital in setting the stage for Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh during the death overs, but she needs a partner capable of maintaining the momentum typically generated by the opening pair.
Rodrigues and Bhatia demonstrated they could perform that role during the T20I series against England before the World Cup. However, that form, particularly Rodrigues,’ has disappeared at the worst possible time.
With the level of competition only increasing, Rodrigues needs to rediscover the spark she found against Australia during the 2025 ODI World Cup when she was placed in a similar situation. If that issue is resolved, India’s batting lineup alone may be enough to carry the Women in Blue to a T20 World Cup title.
The Protean Hunger
South Africa have endured their share of heartbreak in ICC tournaments across both the men’s and women’s games.
The women’s side lost their previous three ICC finals, two T20 World Cup finals in 2023 and 2024, followed by the ODI World Cup final against India in 2025. But it is becoming increasingly clear that they have grown tired of falling just short.
In what many labeled a virtual quarterfinal, the Proteas displayed remarkable resilience and belief throughout the contest. Even after losing their star captain Wolvaardt, Brits and Kapp absorbed every ounce of pressure and guided the chase home with composure and intelligence.
Kapp must have felt almost invincible after surviving three chances, but that self-belief is often what separates contenders from champions.
The question now is whether this South African side will finally earn the opportunity to call themselves champions. If they continue to perform like this, they very well might.
What They Said
Amol Muzumdar, India Head Coach: “I think just to start with today’s game, I think we were 10 to 15 runs short. The way we started, I guess 170 would have been an ideal score. But having said that, we fought really well, credit to everyone, you know, on the field and we stuck it out. In the end, I think South Africa and especially Marizanne Kapp batted really well.”
(On the struggles of the middle order) “It’s T20 cricket for you, isn’t it?”
“Because of the high-risk factor, there will be a lot of wickets that will fall. And we have been playing a brand of cricket, a fearless brand of cricket, which we have emphasized on. So I guess there will be some days where we will have those wickets falling in a cluster. But I guess that’s the way the nature of the game is. Not much of concern.”
Marizanne Kapp, South Africa: “It’s definitely not an easy wicket to chase on, especially against a team like India with their spinners. We obviously, with the bat, didn’t get off to a great start, but I felt like that partnership with Taz and her innings just stabilized the chase a little bit.”
“And we just kept on saying, if we don’t let it go too far past 10 runs and over, we know we can catch up, especially with the players that were still out and dug out. But it definitely is a wicket for a batter. The longer you stay in there, it becomes a little bit easier.”
What Comes Next
India vs. Bangladesh, Thursday, June 25 @ Old Trafford, Manchester, 2:30 p.m. BST (9:30 a.m. EST; 7:00 p.m. IST)
South Africa vs. Netherlands, Thursday, June 25 @ County Ground, Bristol, 6:30 p.m. BST (1:30 p.m. EST; 11:00 p.m. IST)
