NEW DELHI, Jun 26: South Africa kept their Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final aspirations firmly on track after registering a convincing 88-run victory over the Netherlands in Bristol on Thursday. A sensational unbeaten century from opener Tazmin Brits laid the foundation for the Proteas’ biggest total in tournament history before their bowlers wrapped up a comprehensive win.
After being asked to bat, South Africa produced a commanding batting display to finish on 208/1 in 20 overs, the highest total the side has ever recorded in the Women’s T20 World Cup. The innings was built around an outstanding knock from Brits, who remained unbeaten on 114 from just 69 deliveries.
The victory lifted South Africa to six points from four Group 1 matches, drawing level with India in the standings. However, India continue to hold the advantage on net run rate, leaving the race for the semi-finals wide open ahead of the final round of group fixtures.
Brits delivered one of the finest innings of the tournament, reaching her maiden T20 International century in her 82nd appearance. Her 114 not out is now the second-highest individual score in Women’s T20 World Cup history, behind Meg Lanning’s 126 against Ireland in the 2014 edition.
The right-handed opener gave South Africa a flying start alongside skipper Laura Wolvaardt. The pair stitched together a 121-run opening partnership that set the platform for a massive total. Wolvaardt contributed a fluent 45 before departing, while Annerie Dercksen added the finishing touches with an explosive unbeaten 37 off only 16 deliveries during an unbroken 87-run stand with Brits.
South Africa raced to 66 without losing a wicket inside the PowerPlay, maintaining the momentum throughout the innings. Along the way, Brits also reached another personal milestone by becoming only the second South African woman, after Wolvaardt, to complete 2,000 runs in T20 Internationals.
The experienced opener reached her century in the 18th over with her first six of the match before finishing the innings with 15 boundaries and three maximums, anchoring one of the most dominant batting performances of the competition.
The Netherlands began their chase positively as Phoebe Molkenboer and Sanya Khurana put together a confident opening partnership. The Dutch side reached 50 without loss in the PowerPlay and crossed the 100-run mark in the 15th over, with Molkenboer top scoring with 41 while Sterre Kalis also made useful contributions.
Despite the encouraging start, the required scoring rate kept climbing, leaving the Netherlands with an impossible task. Their innings unravelled dramatically in the closing stages as they lost seven wickets for just 20 runs to finish on 120/8.
Ayabonga Khaka spearheaded South Africa’s disciplined bowling effort with impressive figures of 3/19, while veteran pacer Shabnim Ismail continued her memorable return from retirement. Ismail claimed her 48th Women’s T20 World Cup wicket, drawing level with Australia’s Megan Schutt as the tournament’s joint-highest wicket-taker.
Reflecting on her Player of the Match performance, Brits admitted she was more focused on pushing the team’s total beyond the 200-run mark than on reaching a personal milestone.
“I actually didn’t realise I was close to a hundred. My focus was simply to get the team past 200. Achieving it at a World Cup makes it even more special,” she said after the match.
Brits also explained that months of work on expanding her stroke play, particularly through the off side, had paid dividends. She further revealed that her celebration after reaching three figures carried a personal message in sign language, expressing gratitude to God.
South Africa now head into their final Group 1 fixture against Bangladesh at Lord’s knowing another victory could secure a place in the semi-finals, depending on the outcome of the clash between India and group leaders Australia.