Manchester, June 22: In a thrilling encounter at the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, South Africa secured a 6-wicket victory against India, thanks to an outstanding all-round performance by Marizanne Kapp. Kapp, who took 2 wickets and scored an unbeaten 81 runs, was named ‘Player of the Match’ for her exceptional contribution.
With this win, South Africa has climbed to third place in Group A of the points table, having won 2 out of 3 matches. Meanwhile, India sits in second place after losing 1 of their 3 matches. Australia leads the group with a hat-trick of wins.
Winning the toss at Emirates Old Trafford, India opted to bat first, scoring 158 runs while losing 7 wickets. A brief partnership of 30 runs between Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma came off just 18 balls. Mandhana scored 17 runs off 12 balls before returning to the pavilion, followed by Shafali, who added 24 runs with Yastika Bhatia for the second wicket.
Shafali played a quick innings of 31 runs off 15 balls, hitting 1 six and 4 fours. By the time India reached a score of 83, they had already lost 4 wickets. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur then partnered with Deepti Sharma to add 33 runs for the fifth wicket, helping the team cross the century mark.
Harmanpreet scored 24 runs off 22 balls with 2 fours before getting out, while Deepti Sharma contributed 29 runs and Richa Ghosh added 15 runs, setting a challenging target. From South Africa’s bowling side, Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail each took 2 wickets, while Nonkululeko Mlaba, Ayabonga Khaka, and Nadine de Klerk claimed 1 wicket each.
In response, South Africa chased down the target in just 19.1 overs. They lost captain Laura Wolvaardt (20) and Anneke Dirkse van Schalkwyk (0) within the first 5.4 overs, giving India a glimmer of hope. However, Marizanne Kapp, alongside Tazmin Brits, turned the game around with a remarkable partnership of 97 runs for the third wicket off 63 balls.
Tazmin scored 40 runs off 36 balls, hitting 1 six and 2 fours. South Africa lost their fourth wicket when Nadine de Klerk fell for 5 runs in the 17.5 over, but by then, the match was firmly in their grasp.
Marizanne Kapp remained unbeaten at 81 runs off 45 balls, smashing 4 sixes and 7 fours, while Chloe Tryon added 10 runs off 4 balls. For India, Shreyanka Sharma took 3 wickets for 24 runs, with Shafali Verma claiming 1 wicket.
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RSG
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