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10:20 PM: What an edge-of-the-seat thriller we’ve witnessed in Vizag, a city that seems to keep delivering nail-biters! In the end, it was Shorna Akter’s missed opportunity that proved costly as South Africa chased down the target, winning the match by 3 wickets. Credit must go to Bangladesh, who put up a terrific fight and pushed the game all the way to the final over, even with heavy dew making conditions tricky. 

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first. The openers, Rubya Haider and Fargana Hoque, started cautiously, ensuring a solid platform during the powerplay, taking the score to 28/0 after 10 overs. The 53-run opening stand was broken when Tryon dismissed Rubya for 25. Fargana and Sharmin Akhter added 20 runs before Fargana was trapped LBW by Mlaba for 30. Skipper Nigar Sultana Joty joined Sharmin to steady the innings, putting on a crucial 77-run partnership for the third wicket. Sultana Joty fell for 32, while Sharmin Akhter reached a well-earned half-century before departing for 50 off 77 balls.

Shorna Akter walked in at number five and completely shifted the momentum with a sensational 51* off 35 balls, striking 3 fours and 3 towering sixes—remarkable considering Bangladesh had hit only 4 sixes in the tournament before this innings. The final 10 overs yielded 82 runs, with Ritu Moni adding a quickfire 19* off 8 balls, helping Bangladesh finish strongly at 232/6. South Africa will now chase a challenging target of 233, with Nonkululeko Mlaba the standout bowler for the Proteas, finishing with figures of 2/42.

In reply, Bangladesh struck early as Nahida Akter sent Tazmin Brits back for a golden duck. Wolvaardt and Bosch then put together a steady 55-run partnership for the second wicket, looking comfortable at the crease. However, a disastrous mix-up in the 15th over led to the captain Wolvaardt being run out for 31. Just two balls later, Bosch threw her wicket away, falling for 28, giving Bangladesh a lifeline and a chance to stage a comeback in the game.

The momentum swung back in favour of the Proteas as Marizanne Kapp and Chloe Tryon stitched together an important 85-run partnership for the sixth wicket, taking the game out of Bangladesh’s reach. Kapp reached her 16th half-century, while Tryon recorded her 14th. With 71 runs needed off 60 balls and five wickets in hand, the Proteas were well positioned. Marizanne Kapp fell in the 41st over for 56, but Nadine de Klerk and Chloe Tryon put on 35 crucial runs for the seventh wicket, taking the game deep.

Tryon had an early reprieve, and de Klerk too got a lifeline in the 49th over when Shorna Akter dropped a simple catch at long-off—a moment that proved decisive. With 8 runs required off 6 balls, de Klerk finished the match in style, hitting a four followed by a six to seal victory for South Africa. For the second consecutive game at the same venue, de Klerk hit the winning runs. Heartbreak for Bangladesh as South Africa win by 3 wickets and move up to third in the points table. Stay tuned for the Post-Match Presentation!

Chloe Tryon (Player of the Match): "I got no words actually. We wanted to take the game deep. I knew that I had Nadine at the other end. She will do what she does best in the death overs. I am happy that we got over the line. 

It was quite familiar. We wanted to build a partnership over there and keep the scoreboard ticking. We were waiting for the bad balls. We still back ourselves to chase 80 runs in the last 10 overs.

We just kept it nice and simple. I think we needed 120 off 110 balls. We were nice and calm in the middle. We were just waiting for the bad balls and we were running really hard between the wickets.

Both games were pretty good though they were nerve wrecking. We now need to head to Colombo for our next game. We will enjoy this moment but we have a big game coming up in Colombo." 

Nigar Sultana Joty (Bangladesh Women Captain): "First of all, I am really proud of the way my girls fought till the last ball of the match but I am sad because they are crying in the dressing room. They are so young. I am really happy as they gave their 110% in the ground, fight for each and every run and they are very emotional. They kept believing that we can get this win. It was a big learning for us.

See, we have been losing early wickets in the powerplay. Our main plan was to not giveaway any wicket inside the powerplay and also build a partnership. We introduced Pinky today. She is a senior player. Everyone gave their best in the middle but we were still 10-15 runs short. Maybe that could've been a bigger difference today.

(Shorna Akter's batting innings) Definitely. I have been talking about her for a long, long time. She couldn't give her 100% in the middle but she kept trying. I know the potential she has. We enjoyed her innings and she showed her how we should bat. 

This happened in the England game as well. We managed to pick 5 early wickets but the match slipped away after the 30th over. During the break, we were talking about hitting the right lengths. The bowlers did really well. Unfortunately something happened in the middle which happens in the game of cricket. It was a good experience for us. My team is very young but they have should brilliant courage since that New Zealand game. 

I will just say that everyone needs to be proud of their efforts. This is not our last game of the tournament. We have 3 more games left. We should be proud and we should keep our heads held high. We gave them a tough fight."

Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa Women Captain): "The nerves are fine now. That was a lot closer than we would've liked it to be. I am glad that we got the points at the end. We tried to stay as patient as we could. We thought the slower bowlers were working quite well. Obviously, it was frustrating not to get early wickets but I think they applied themselves really well. I think Shorna was brilliant with the bat in hand. 

Kappy (Kapp) and Chloey (Tryon) were absolutely amazing. We didn't get off to a start that we wanted. We had a bit of a slower start than we wanted. We wanted to be a bit watchful. Rabeya was hard to pick so we wanted to stitch a partnership in the middle. Unfortunately, we lost wickets early but that partnership between Kappy & Chloey was important for us and Nadine did what she does best at the end. 

Not ideal but at least we are getting over the line. I think there have been series and games in the past where we ended up on the losing side in these kind of games. I think that we are just winning and our middle order is contributing a lot is really good to know. I am sure that there will be a game where our top order will fire. We need to have that confidence. 

(On Masabata Klaas' cameo with the bat) Yeah, that lap in the end was incredible. We will talk about that for many days to come."

Phew! What an absolute thriller we’ve seen here in Vizag, a venue that has now hosted three matches in this tournament, and all three have gone down to the wire with the chasing side emerging victorious. It’s a perfect reminder of why in cricket, they say “catches win matches.” Had Shorna Akter held onto that crucial chance in the 49th over, the outcome could have been very different. Nevertheless, Bangladesh put up a brilliant performance despite the tricky, dewy conditions. South Africa complete a hat-trick of wins and move up to third spot in the points table.

We shift to Colombo tomorrow as Sri Lanka will host New Zealand. For now, this is Pritam Dey signing off along with scorer/analyst Bishal Mandal and statistician Aman as we brought all the updates of this clash. Stay tuned for more cricketing action from around the world. BYE BYE👋