Chloe Tryon and Nadine de Klerk joined forces yet again to script another come-from-behind South African victory as they overcame a fine bowling display from Bangladesh to deliver a three-wicket win in Vizag. Bangladesh rode on contrasting half-centuries from Sharmin Akhter and Shorna Akter to post 232/6 after electing to bat. South Africa were in trouble early in their chase but fifties from Tryon and Marizanne Kapp, and an unbeaten 37 off 29 from de Klerk, took the Proteas over the line with three deliveries to spare.
South Africa endured an initial setback in the chase as Tazmin Brits registered her second successive duck after the hundred against New Zealand, chipping a catch back to Nahida Akter. Laura Wolvaardt and Anneke Bosch then forged a half-century stand but the Bangladesh bowlers ensured the run rate was still under control, with South Africa only managing 58 in 15 overs. To compound their problems, Wolvaardt, let off previously by Rabeya, was run out and Ritu Moni had Bosch bunting a catch to mid-off as South Africa crashed to 62/3.
Things went from bad to worse as South Africa tumbled to 78/5 in the 23rd over. Annerie Dercksen and Sinalo Jafta were both knocked over, with Rabeya Khan and Fahima Khatun also entering the wickets coloumn. Marizanne Kapp and Chloe Tryon embarked upon the repair job, putting on a brisk half-century partnership. Kapp rustled her fifty with a six off Shorna but fell in the next over to Nahida, terminating an alliance worth 85. Tryon then zoomed past fifty and added 35 in the company of de Klerk.
Tryon got lucky when she was dropped at deep midwicket off Rabeya, and the resulting boundary helped her accomplish fifty. She backed it up with a six and a four in the same over, that yielded 16, and brought the equation down to 37 off the last six overs. Tryon, however, was run out soon after, leaving de Klerk to shoulder the responsibility of navigating the remainder of the chase. Only 5 runs came off the 45th and 46th overs cumulatively but de Klerk stroked two fours off Fahima to bring it down to a manageable 21 off the last three overs.
Nahida conceded 8 runs in the 48th and Rabeya allowed only 5 in the penultimate over, taking the game down to the wire. Albeit Bangladesh made a costly error as de Klerk was reprieved at long-off by Shorna and she went on to smash a four and a six off Nahida to seal a jittery win for South Africa that took them to the third spot on the points table.
Earlier, Bangladesh posted a decent total, with Shorna Akter’s explosive fifty providing the late flourish after a measured batting show through the middle overs. The foundation was laid by opener Sharmin Akhter, who scored 50 off 77 deliveries. Her innings was laced with six boundaries as she anchored the Bangladesh innings before being run-out. The early exchanges were attritional, with Bangladesh reaching 53 before losing Rubya Haider for 30. Fargana Hoque contributed an obdurate 25 from 52 balls before Mlaba bagged her first wicket, leaving Bangladesh behind the eight ball at 73/2 in 25 overs.
Captain Nigar Sultana and Sharmin added 77 off 91 as Bangladesh switched up gears to move to 150 in 40 overs. They witnessed another slowdown at 195/6 in the 47th over, but Shorna was determined to supply the finishing kick. The right-hander exploded with an unbeaten 51 from 35, hammering three boundaries and as many sixes as her no-holds-barred assault on the South African bowlers thrust Bangladesh’s total from the middling to the challenging category. Moni provided able support in an undefeated stand as the pair added 37 runs in 3.2 overs to give Bangladesh’s total a final fillip.
Brief scores: Bangladesh 232/6 in 50 overs (Shorna Akter 51*, Sharmin Akhter 50; Nonkululeko Mlaba 2-42) lost to South Africa 235/7 in 49.3 overs (Chloe Tryon 62, Marizanne Kapp 56; Nahida Akter 2-44) by 3 wickets.
