Mlaba, Dercksen drag Proteas back from the brink

Mlaba captured a brace of wickets and Annerie Dercksen balanced power and placement as they set South Africa Women up for a four-wicket win over Bangladesh Women in their Women's T20 World Cup match at Lord's on Sunday.

Bangladesh's captain, Nigar Sultana, won the toss and elected to bat first. Her side battled their way to 117/5 in 20 overs. South Africa looked comfortable for the first half of their innings before stumbling to 118/6 in 19.2 overs to secure victory.

Mlaba, who finished the match with two wickets for 22 runs in four overs, dismissed Sharmin Akhter and Shorna Akter in an inspired middle overs spell that ensured that Bangladesh progressed in a stop-start nature. The spinner built her work on the foundation laid by Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail in the powerplay.

The pacers hit the mark so often that Bangladesh struggled to get the ball to the boundary. Sobhana Mostary showed some defiance with a 48-run 42 that gave Bangladesh a platform to launch from at the death. Sultana played her shots on her way to an unbeaten 32 from 20. Unfortunately, both their efforts were not enough to stop the Proteas.

Like Bangladesh, the Proteas lost a wicket off the first ball of the over. However, unlike their opponents, South Africa showed more intent despite the early wicket. Bangladesh hobbled their way to 23/2 after the powerplay, while South Africa raced to 40/1 thanks to Annerie Dercksen and Tasmin Brits' 52-run second-wicket stand.

Brits, who struggled to get into her stride early on, perished in the ninth over while trying to heave a Nahida Akter delivery over the long-on boundary. Bangladesh kept the pressure on and were rewarded with another wicket an over later. However, Nadine de Klerk and Marizanne Kapp got the innings back on course with a 15-run fifth-wicket partnership that ended with Kapp's run-out.

Kapp's exit put the Proteas in a tricky position, but De Klerk smashed a couple of boundaries in the over to keep them on course. The allrounder couldn't see them over the line, but her contribution was enough to determine the result. South Africa went into the last over needing five runs to win. It was not a tall order for Chloe Tryon (8*) and Sinalo Jafta (0*). The duo saw them over the line with four balls to spare.

The victory lifts South Africa into second place in Pool 1. However, their semifinal qualification now hinges on whether India can defeat Australia in the final match of the group. Victory for India knocks the Proteas out, while an Australian win sees South Africa through to the last four.

SOUTH AFRICA: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Annerie Dercksen, Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk, Chloe Tryon, Dane van Niekerk, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba.

BANGLADESH: Juariya Ferdous, Taj Nehar, Sobhana Mostary, Nigar Sultana (capt, wk), Sharmin Akhter, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, Marufa Akter, Sanjida Akter Meghla.