High-flying South Africa keep Pakistan winless

A dominant batting performance set up South Africa's fifth straight victory in a rain-hit game as they knocked Pakistan out of semifinal contention with a 150-run win (DLS method) in Colombo, and moved to the top of the table. In a game reduced to 40 overs per side, South Africa rode on Laura Wolvaardt's well-paced 90, brisk half-centuries from Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp, and a whirlwind 41 off 16 from Nadine de Klerk to post 312 for 9. The DLS revised target for Pakistan, which was initially 306 in 40 overs, was revised a few more times owing to more rain interruptions. The game was in danger of being called off but a result was eventually achieved, with Pakistan finishing with 83/7 chasing a revised 234 in 20 overs.

Asked to bat, Laura Wolvaardt got going with a boundary off the very first ball but soon saw her opening partner Tazmin Brits depart for her third duck of the tournament, edging Fatima Sana to first slip. A rain interruption of nearly two and a half hours reduced the overs, but it barely mattered as South Africa launched an assault. Wolvaardt kept the scoreboard ticking with crisp boundaries, while Sune Luus cleared the fence a couple of times and found the gap regularly for fours as South Africa raced past 100 inside 15 overs. Luus brought up a 55-ball half-century with a four and added two more boundaries before falling to Nashra Sandhu, ending a second-wicket stand worth 118 off 93 balls.

Wolvaardt reached her fifty soon after, only to witness another wicket at the other end when Annerie Dercksen was run out. Marizanne Kapp then joined her skipper and the pair added a brisk 64-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Wolvaardt began finding the big hits in the latter stages of her innings, powering South Africa past 200 in just 29 overs. However, she narrowly missed out on a century, being stumped off Sandhu's bowling, who also claimed Karabo Meso in the same over, leaving South Africa at 212/5.

Kapp brought up a well-paced fifty and Chloe Tryon contributed with some brisk boundaries before being stumped off Sadia Iqbal. Nadine de Klerk then unleashed a blistering knock, including three fours and four sixes. De Klerk struck two maximums in the 38th over off Sadia while 25 came in the 39th over bowled by Fatima Sana, which included two sixes and four from de Klerk and a six from Kapp, taking South Africa past the 300-run mark. Although three wickets fell in the final over, South Africa still managed 11 runs, finishing with a massive total.

Like Wolvaardt, Muneeba Ali also struck a four off the first ball but the chase went downhill not too long after. Muneeba fell to Ayabonga Khaka, getting a top-edge trying to play across the line, while Sidra Amin got a couple of reprieves. However, she wasn't able to capitalise on it as she edged a Kapp delivery to the 'keeper, soon after Omaima Sohail was trapped in front in the same over. Kapp bagged her third by having Aliya Riaz caught behind, as Pakistan slipped to 35/4 in 10 overs.

It began to rain again after the 10th over, which meant another reduction with the target revised to 299 in 37. But just as the players got ready to get back on to the field, rain returned, leading to another interruption. It was further revised to 270 in 27 overs and 262 in 25. A couple of overs were bowled before it began to rain again. Credit to the groundsmen, they got it ready just in time before the cut-off.

South Africa rushed through the remaining overs with spin as Nonkululeko Mlaba and Nondumiso Shangase bowled in tandem and finished their quota of four overs each. Natalia Pervaiz was caught behind off Shangase and Sana was bowled in the offspinner's final over. Tryon and Luus wrapped up the remaining three overs to ensure a result in the game, which was a resounding win for South Africa.

Brief scores: South Africa 312/9 in 40 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 90, Marizanne Kapp 68*, Sune Luus 61; Nashra Sandhu 3-45) beat Pakistan 83/7 in 20 overs (Sidra Nawaz 22*; Marizanne Kapp 3-20, Nondumiso Shangase 2-19) by 150 runs (DLS method).