Bangladesh lost narrowly to South Africa by three wickets in the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025, after reducing the Proteas to 78/5. Nadine de Klerk’s last-over six sealed the win, leaving Bangladesh players emotional and their semifinal hopes in doubt.
Bangladesh players were left heartbroken and emotional following their defeat to South Africa in the thrilling Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 match at Dr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Monday, October 13. Bangladesh suffered their third successive loss in the tournament, losing by three wickets to the Proteas.
After posting a total of 232/6, thanks to half-centuries by Shorna Akter (51*) and Sharmin Akter (50), and vital contributions from Sultana (32) and Ritu Moni (19*). Bangladesh could not defend it as South Africa chased a 233-run target with three balls to spare in the final. Chloe Tyron led the Proteas run chase with an innings of 62 off 69 balls. Marizanne Kapp and Nadine de Klerk made crucial contributions of 56 and 37*, respectively, steering the side to a thrilling victory and keeping their semifinal hopes alive.
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For Bangladesh, Nahida Akter led the bowling attack with a spell of 2/44 at an economy rate of 4.60 in 9.3 overs, while Rabeya Khan, Fahima Khatun, and Ritu Moni picked a wicket each.
Heartbreak for Bangladesh
Bangladesh were in the game and were aiming to pull off an upset when they reduced South Africa to 78/5 in 22.1 overs. The collapse in South Africa’s batting completely tilted the momentum of Bangladesh. However, Marizanne Kapp and Chloe Tyron’s 85-run partnership for the sixth wicket stabilized the innings and shifted momentum back to the Proteas.
After Kapp’s dismissal, Tyron was joined by Nadine de Klerk in the middle, and the pair added 30 runs to their partnership before Tyron’s unfortunate runout. Thereafter, de Klerk shouldered the responsibility of carrying on South Africa’s run chase. Her stay at the crease posed a significant threat to Bangladesh, especially after surviving a dropped catch by Shorna Akter.
When South Africa needed 4 runs off as many balls to win the match, Nadine de Klerk smashed a six off Nahida Akter’s delivery, sealing a thrilling three-wicket victory for the Proteas with three balls to spare. As De Klerk took the Proteas finishing line, the Bangladesh players were visibly crestfallen and disappointed over a narrow defeat.
The staff and players in the dugout were shocked by how narrowly the match slipped away from their hands despite a strong fight, with emotions ranging from disbelief to heartbreak at missing out on an upset victory.
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With the third successive defeat in the Women’s World Cup 2025, Bangladesh’s hopes of finishing in the top 4 and qualifying for the semifinal are in jeopardy, as they have to win the remaining matches of the tournament to have realistic chances of making it to the knockout stage.
Bangladesh Skipper Proud of her Team Despite Defeat
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana revealed that some of the young players were in tears in the dressing room following a heartbreaking defeat to South Africa. She expressed pride in the team for giving their best on the field and motivated the players to focus on the upcoming matches of their campaign.
“First of all, I’m really proud of the way my girls fight till the last ball. And I’m sad because they are crying in the dressing room, because they are so young. And I’m really happy the way they have given their 110 percent today,” Sultana said.
“And they are very emotional right now, and they keep believing in themselves that we can get this win. So I think it was a great learning (experience) for us,”
“And I know my team is very young. But they keep growing each and every day. And how we came back after the New Zealand game is quite brilliant. I just say (message to the team), be proud of how you have done in the middle. And this is not the last game we are going to play. So we have three more games left,” she added.
Bangladesh will look to bounce back when they take on the defending champions, Australia, at YS Rajasekhara Reddy Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Thursday, October 16.