BIRMINGHAM: Fatima Sana produced another masterclass with bat and ball to cement her status as one of the finest all-rounders in women’s international cricket, but even her brilliance could not stop South Africa Women scrambling to a two-wicket victory in a Group-1 match in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Edgbaston on Wednesday.

After Pakistan collapsed to 50 for eight in 10.4 overs, Fatima Sana produced a defiant, unbeaten 55 at a strike-rate of nearly 145 to drag her side to 126 for nine — a total that, on that batting display, had no right to exist. Then, with South Africa cruising at 93 for four in 12 overs, she turned to smart bowling changes and snared three crucial wickets, before a wide down the leg side handed the last event’s losing finalists victory with two wickets and 19 balls in hand.

Annerie Dercksen and Nadine de Klerk were the ones who got South Africa home, but it should never have come to that. Established batters Laura Wolvaardt (8), Sune Luus (5), Marizanne Kapp (10), Chloe Tyron (4), Kayla Reyneke (2) and Sinalo Jafta (5) managed just 38 runs between them — and Pakistan let South Africa off the hook regardless. Dercksen, later named player of the match, struck 52 from 35 balls with seven fours and two sixes, while de Klerk profited from two dropped catches to score 37 from 28 balls with six fours.

South Africa did not just benefit from those drops — both, agonisingly, off Fatima Sana herself — they feasted on loose deliveries and careless ground fielding, plundering 84 of their 126 runs through 18 fours and two sixes. It is a number that tells its own uncomfortable story, and one that is unacceptable at any level of the game.

Sadia Iqbal, the world’s second-ranked bowler, picked up two for 26, and Tuba Hassan — fresh from a gutsy 23 with the bat at No. 10 — added two for 28. But it was Fatima Sana, again, who stood above the rest: three for 16, the most successful bowler on either side.

Pakistan’s batting remains brittle, fragile and painfully short of conviction. None of that is new. What is also not new is Fatima Sana rising to the moment when her side needs her most — except this time, the stage was not a bilateral series but a global tournament, and the world was watching. This was a statement performance, the kind that does not go unnoticed, least of all by franchise team owners scouting talent across the globe.

She announced herself in style: a first boundary off the eighth ball she faced, then five more fours and two sixes across the next 30 deliveries, including two sixes and a four in the final over of the innings. It was calculated, fearless hitting — the kind that does not panic — and it was Fatima Sana’s smart shot selection that hauled 49 runs out of the last five overs almost single-handedly.

And yet a mystery remains. Pakistan’s best and most fearless batter continues to walk out at No. 8, when she has the game and the temperament to bat far higher. The team management’s reluctance to promote her up the order is doing her — and Pakistan — a disservice. Batting her higher would not only hand her more time at the crease, it would also give the side’s younger batters a senior partner to rally around, just as Tuba Hassan did on Wednesday with a composed 27-ball 23, adding 71 runs for the ninth wicket in 54 balls alongside her captain.

On Wednesday she batted at No. 8. She batted at No. 6 when she struck a world-record 15-ball half-century against Zimbabwe. She made a match-winning 47 not out against South Africa in Benoni earlier this year batting at No. 7, and a swashbuckling 41-ball 91 not out against the same opposition in Potchefstroom at No. 8. Wherever she bats, she delivers. The question is why Pakistan keep making her wait.

Fatima Sana and Tuba Hassan’s resistance ensured the game did not end as a procession after the top eight batters had been dismissed before the end of the 11th over, with the score on just 50.

South Africa’s bowlers had torn through the top order before that rescue act. Veteran seamer Marizanne Kapp trapped Muneeba Ali in front first ball, then exposed Gull Feroza’s faulty footwork five balls later, clipping the top of off stump. Natalia Pervaiz dragged one from Ayabonga Khaka onto her stumps attempting to work it away, before Kapp accounted for Ayesha Zafar, beaten attempting a repeat of an earlier classy on-drive — television replays confirmed the ball would have gone on to hit middle stump.

Pakistan, already reeling, then lost Rameen Shamim and Iram Javed to run-outs, before Aliya Riaz fell trying to accelerate, caught at gully. Nashra Sandhu’s run-out completed the collapse in farcical fashion, non-striker Fatima Sana stumbling over the bowler as her partner was stranded mid-pitch after playing to mid-on.

Kapp finished with three for 23, the pick of the South Africa bowlers, while Shabnim Ismail and Khaka picked up one wicket apiece.

Pakistan travel to Southampton next, where they face Bangladesh on Saturday. With their net run-rate sitting at -2.263 and only bottom-placed Netherlands below them, Pakistan’s route back into contention is brutally simple: beat their Asian rivals, and worry about the rest later.

Scores in brief:

Match 11 (Group 1) — South Africa Women beat Pakistan Women by two wickets, Birmingham

PAKISTAN WOMEN 126-9, 20 overs (Fatima Sana 55 not out, Tuba Hassan 23, Iram Javed 11, Aliya Riaz 10; Marizanne Kapp 3-23)

SOUTH AFRICA WOMEN 127-8, 16.5 overs (Annerie Dercksen 52, Nadine de Klerk 37, Marizanne Kapp 10; Fatima Sana 3-16, Sadia Iqbal 2-26, Tuba Hassan 2-28)

PLAYER OF THE MATCH — Annerie Dercksen (South Africa)

PAKISTAN’S NEXT MATCH — v Bangladesh (Saturday, 20 June), Southampton