(Photo ICC)
Marizanne Kapp was the hero as South Africa won a thrilling, see-sawing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 match, defeating India by six wickets.
India were on track for a huge total until South Africa found their lines and lengths, restricting their opponents to 158 for seven as Kapp took two for 27.
South Africa were sluggish to begin their chase before a 97-run stand from Kapp and Tazmin Brits moved the Proteas into the ascendancy and Kapp took them to victory with 81 not out.
Victory keeps South Africa’s semi-final hopes alive as both they and India sit on two wins and one loss.
India were flying early on as Smriti Mandhana crunched Shabnim Ismail for back-to-back fours in the second over.
Mandhana then attempted a scoop shot and was instead bowled for 17 from 12 as Marizanne Kapp made the breakthrough.
Laura Wolvaardt turned to spin and Chloe Tryon, and it proved the wrong decision as she conceded 17 runs from her first over before India’s fifty was reached off 26 balls.
Ismail found her line and length to dismiss Shafali Verma for 31 runs as Verma gloved the ball behind to Sinalo Jafta while ducking out the way of a bouncer as India ended the powerplay at 59 for two.
Ayabonga Khaka then struck with her second ball as she trapped Yastika Bhatia LBW, who departed for 15 from 13.
That brought out Harmanpreet Kaur in her 200th T20 international, as she batted for the 179th time for India in the shortest format of the game.
Like Khaka, Nadine de Klerk took a wicket off her second delivery, as a tentative Jemimah Rodrigues sent a caught and bowled opportunity to the pace bowler as India slipped to 83 for four just after halfway.
At the second drinks break, Kaur required extended treatment seemingly for sickness and she had to go four balls later as she was bowled by Ismail for 24.
Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh played positively but they were the final two India wickets as Kapp and Khaka took good low catches and India ended on 158 for seven, well short of where they could have been.
South Africa quickly fell behind the run rate and were in deeper trouble when Laura Wolvaardt was expertly caught and bowled by Sree Charani for 20 from 21 balls.
Charani then cleaned up Annerie Dercksen for a two-ball duck to leave the Proteas at 25 for two at the end of the powerplay as she produced a double-wicket maiden.
India then dropped Brits on 16 and Kapp on nine as Charani judged a high catch wrong and Nandni Sharma tipped a difficult chance over the boundary for six.
With 10 overs to go, South Africa needed 100 runs with neither Brits or Kapp yet able to up the ante.
Brits then successfully overturned an LBW decision on 28, before substitute fielder Radha Yadav put down a tough diving chance with Kapp on 29 as Charani conceded 13 runs off the over.
South Africa had found their groove, exemplified by two ramp shots from Kapp to move to her fifty from 34 balls.
With 24 balls remaining, South Africa needed 37 to win but Kapp and Brits’ 97-run stand ended as Charani caught Brits for 40 in the deep.
Verma almost had two wickets in the over, but Kapp was dropped on 66 as Yadav put down an easy catch.
The dangerous Nadine de Klerk could not take South Africa home as she was bowled by Charani (3/24) for five.
But it mattered not as Kapp crunched a huge six to take her side to the brink before hitting the winnings runs having made a stunning 81 not out from 45.
West Indies edge past Sri Lanka for nervy victory
The West Indies took a big step towards reaching the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 with a hard-fought five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka.
Some impressive bowling limited Sri Lanka to just 98 all out, as Player of the Match Hayley Matthews impressed, taking the first three wickets of the game in her opening two overs.
She also led a rapid start to their run chase before Stafanie Taylor guided the West Indies home after Sri Lanka’s bowlers put up a stoic fight.
Victory maintains the West Indies’ perfect start to the tournament with three wins from three, leaving them well-placed to qualify from Group B ahead of matches against England and Ireland.
Sri Lanka now face an uphill battle, with one win from their three matches so far.
Sri Lanka made a difficult start with the bat, as Matthews ripped through the top order to reduce them to nine for three.
Vishmi Gunarathne fell caught and bowled for one inside the first over, before Matthews claimed both Chamari Athapaththu (2) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (0) in the same over.
Sri Lanka sought to rebuild from nine for three through Imesha Dulani and Kavisha Dilhari, but Dulani became the fourth victim of the powerplay when she was dismissed for 17 by Chinelle Henry.
Dilhari (21) and Nilakshika Silva dug in to drag Sri Lanka past 50 before Dilhari and Kaushini Nuthyangana (0) fell within three balls to leave them 58 for six.
Silva continued to try to salvage the Sri Lankan innings with a gutsy 30 off 26, while Kawya Kavindi added 17, but it was not enough as wickets continued to fall around them.
Silva eventually fell to Afy Fletcher before Sugandika Kumari (2) was stumped by Shemaine Campbelle off Karishma Ramharack.
Sri Lanka continued to push as they looked to crest three figures, but Mithali Ayodhya (3) was run out before Kavindi was also stumped by the same Campbelle and Ramharack pairing to leave her side all out for 98.
West Indies began their chase in brisk fashion, as Matthews and Deandra Dottin looked to push their net run rate up by scoring quickly from the outset.
Matthews cracked 17 off 17 balls before she was run out by Silva and Dottin fell for 12 from the final ball of the powerplay to Nimasha Meepage, leaving the West Indies 36 for two.
Shemaine Campbelle was next to fall, as Athapaththu struck to dismiss her for four, but West Indies comfortably kept ahead of the required run rate through Jahzara Claxton and Stafanie Taylor.
The pair looked well set at the crease until Dilhari struck twice in three balls, claiming the wickets of Claxton (6) and Chinelle Henry (0) to add some extra nerves as the West Indies looked for the 29 runs they needed with eight overs remaining.
But Taylor continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over and combined well with Jannillea Glasgow to edge the West Indies towards their target.
Taylor duly scored the winning run to finish unbeaten on 27, her second not out score in a row, as the West Indies sealed a five-wicket victory with just under 23 balls to spare.
Scores in brief
Sri Lanka v West Indies – Bristol County Ground, Bristol
Sri Lanka: 98 all out in 19.4 overs (Nilakshika Silva 30, Kavisha Dilhari 21; Hayley Matthews 3/15, Karishma Ramharack 2/15)
West Indies: 99/5 in 16.1 overs (Stafanie Taylor 27 not out, Hayley Matthews 17; Kavisha Dilhari 2/22, Chamari Athapaththu 1/13)
Result: West Indies win by five wickets
South Africa v India – Old Trafford, Manchester
India: 158/7 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 31, Deepti Sharma 29; Marizanne Kapp 2/27, Shabnim Ismail 2/28)
South Africa: 161/4 in 19.1 overs (Kapp 81 not out, Tazmin Brits 40; Sree Charani 3/24, Shafali Verma 1/22)
Result: South Africa win by six wickets
