- By Sunny Daud
- Sun, 28 Jun 2026 07:54 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
South Africa kept their hopes of reaching the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup semi-finals alive with a four-wicket victory over Bangladesh in their final group-stage match on Sunday (June 28).
The win lifted South Africa to eight points, putting them two points ahead of India in the standings. India now face a do-or-die clash against Australia in their last group-stage game.
The qualification scenario is now straightforward for India. A victory against Australia, no matter the margin, will send them into the semi-finals. However, a loss or even a rain-affected no-result will end India's campaign.
South Africa also hold a much better net run rate than India, making it impossible for the Women in Blue to qualify without winning their final match.
Here’s how the group-stage table looked ahead of the India-Australia match:
| Pos | Team | P | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia Women | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | +4.724 |
| 2 | South Africa Women | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | +0.633 |
| 3 | India Women | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | +2.268 |
| 4 | Bangladesh Women (E) | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | -0.710 |
| 5 | Pakistan Women (E) | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | -1.872 |
| 6 | Netherlands Women (E) | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -3.276 |
South Africa Hold Their Nerve Against Bangladesh
After choosing to bat first, Bangladesh found it difficult to score freely and finished with 117/5 from their 20 overs.
Sobhana Mostary was the top scorer with a steady 42 off 48 balls. Captain Nigar Sultana added valuable runs at the end, remaining unbeaten on 32 from just 20 deliveries to help her side post a competitive total.
South Africa's bowlers kept the pressure on throughout the innings. Marizanne Kapp delivered an outstanding spell, giving away only nine runs in her four overs, while left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba picked up two wickets for 22 runs.