Women’s T20 World Cup: South Africa beat Bangladesh but face nervous semi-final wait

South Africa made an ideal start to this contest as a combination of tight bowling and circumspect batting saw Bangladesh crawl to 10-1 off the first five overs without scoring a single boundary.

Sobhana Mostary and skipper Joty then shared a 45-run stand for Bangladesh’s third wicket as they made 38 and 32 respectively.

Yet there was the unerring sense Bangladesh left runs out in the middle with so many wickets in hand when they finished up on a rather unthreatening 106-3.

Marizanne Kapp, Nonkululeko Mlaba and Annerie Dercksen all claimed a wicket apiece for the Proteas.

When South Africa openers Wolvaardt and Brits approached the start of the chase with real zest, reaching 17-0 off two overs, it felt inevitable they would knock the runs off in no time.

However, when Wolvaardt became Joty’s sixth stumping of the tournament – more than all of the other wicketkeepers in Group B combined – the rate quickly slowed against Bangladesh’s predominantly spin attack.

Brits and Anneke Bosch, who made a run-a-ball 25, did not appear unduly hurried despite the opportunity to boost their NRR.

Whether their cautious pragmatism to ensure the victory was secured without giving overdue consideration to NRR was the right one remains to be seen.

Either way, if things pan out as expected and England beat Scotland on Sunday, a tense evening at the South Africa team hotel watching Heather Knight’s side face West Indies on television lies in prospect next week.