South Africa’s Under-19 women’s team won the five-match T20 series against Pakistan 3-2, sealing the decider by 17 runs under the DLS method at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi on Friday. Pakistan set a target of 129 after batting first, and South Africa reached 44 for no loss in 5.4 overs when rain ended play.
Miya Lalor, who also dismissed Pakistan captain Fizza Fiaz for a duck earlier in the innings, was named player of the match for her unbeaten 22 off 17 balls. South Africa captain Mieke van Voorst took the player of the series award after scoring 87 runs across the five games, including a fifty in the third match.
Pakistan Openers Set Platform Before Middle-Order Collapse
Pakistan chose to bat first and openers Ravail Farhan and Komal Khan put on 48 runs in 7.3 overs. Farhan scored 32 off 34 balls with five fours, while Khan made 21 off 20 balls with three fours and a six.
Pakistan then sent in Shahar Bano at number three, and she struck three sixes and two fours in a 19-ball innings of 30 runs. Once Bano was dismissed, Pakistan slipped to 85 for 2 in the 12th over. South Africa’s bowlers pulled things back from there, conceding just 43 runs across the last eight overs while taking four wickets.
Zoofishan Ayyaz, who had been the previous match’s player of the match, managed only 18 runs this time. Number five batter Aqsa Habib finished unbeaten on 23 off 22 balls, and Pakistan closed their innings at 128 for 6 in 20 overs.
South Africa’s Bowling Attack Restricts Pakistan’s Total
Leg-spinner Ashleigh van Wyk accounted for both Bano and Ayyaz, finishing with figures of 2 for 22. Danelie Boshoff also picked up two wickets, removing Areesha Ansari among them, and conceded 18 runs from her four overs.
Lalor and Melissa van der Merwe took one wicket apiece. The bowling effort in the back half of the innings proved decisive, limiting Pakistan to a total South Africa could chase down quickly once the rain-adjusted target came into play.
Series Concludes After Split Results Across Five Matches
The series opened on 14 July with a four-wicket win for South Africa, before Pakistan responded with a 47-run victory on 17 July. South Africa then won by 52 runs on 19 July, and Pakistan leveled the series with a six-wicket win on 22 July. Friday’s DLS-affected result settled the series 3-2 in South Africa’s favor.
Across the five matches, Farhan ended as the leading run-scorer with 119, followed by Ayyaz with 112. Maham Nazakat, van Wyk, Mahnoor Zeb and Lalor each finished with six wickets, tying for the most in the series. All five matches were played at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi.
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