MOUNT MAUNGANUI: South Africa’s pacer Shabnim Ismail shone with the ball after Laura Wolvaardt scored a brilliant 75 to power the side to a sensational six-runs victory over Pakistan in the ninth match of the ICC Women’s World Cup, here on Friday.
With just 10 runs to defend in the final over, Shabnim held her nerves calm to bowl a splendid over; conceding just three runs to power her side to a thrilling victory by six runs.
Set to chase 224, Pakistan managed to score 217 before being bowled out on the final delivery despite the brilliant half-centuries from Nida Dar and Omaima Sohail.
In the run chase, the green shirts were off to a poor start; losing two wickets for a combined score of 26 as the opener Sidra Ameen and the skipper Bismah Maroof dismissed for 12 and a duck respectively.
Nahida Khan and Omaima then anchored the run chase with a valiant 69 runs partnership for the third wicket before the former walked back to the pavilion in the 26th over. Nahida scored 40 off 71 with the help of five boundaries.
Omaima on the other hand fell briefly after putting on another handy partnership for the green shirts with Nida. The right-handed batter top-scored with 65 off 104 deliveries, laced with seven boundaries.
Following her departure, the green shirts began to lose wickets at an alarming rate and slipped from 144/3 to a193/7 in the 47th over.
The newly joined Diana Baig smashed two vital blows in the 49th over and provided a glimmer of hope as Ayabonga Khaka leaked 12 runs in the final over but, Dar’s dismissal on the last delivery of the over pushed the green shirts on the back foot.
Baig then remained unable to put on the same show in the final over as Ismail successfully defended 10 runs in the penultimate over to drive the Proteas to a scintillating victory by six runs.
For the Proteas, Ismail bagged three wickets, while Khaka and Marizanne Kapp claimed two each. Masabata Klaas, on the other hand, struck out a batter.
Batting first, South Africa posted a commendable 223/9 in the allotted 50 overs at the back of brilliant knocks from Wolvaardt and the skipper Sune Luus – both scoring fifties and guided their side to a respectable total.
The side had a similar start to that of Pakistan as the Proteas lost two wickets for a mere 21. But, the astonishing third-wicket partnership between Wolvaardt and Luus pulled the side out of trouble.
The pair added 89-runs partnership for the third wicket before Wolvaardt walked back after top-scoring with her 75. The skipper Luus, on the other hand, followed back with her gritty 62 off 102 balls with the help of two boundaries and a six.
Handy cameos down the order from Chloe Tyron and Trisha Chetty; both scoring 31, further bolstered the side to a decent total after a threatening collapse.
For Pakistan, Fatima Sana and Ghulam Fatima took three wickets each, while Diana Baig and Nashra Sandhu made one scalp each.
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