Having held on at the death to secure their first win of the tournament, top-order batter Annerie Dercksen admitted the Proteas will need to figure out where they went wrong after a dominant start against Pakistan at the Women’s T20 World Cup, reports The Citizen.

But the team is confident it can build on that performance as it prepares for another crunch clash against India this Sunday (June 21).

The SA team had Pakistan on the ropes at 50/8 in Birmingham on Wednesday, with seam bowler Marizanne Kapp (3/23) spearheading the attack. However, they lost control of the game after allowing Fatima Sana and Tuba Hassan to stitch together a 71-run ninth-wicket partnership.

Chasing 127, Dercksen struck 52 off 35 balls – her second career T20 International half-century – while Nadine de Klerk added 37 off 28. Despite wickets falling around them, the Proteas held on  hard fought two-wicket win.

“We’ll have to go back and review if there was something we could have done better… but I’m just happy we pulled it through,” said Dercksen, who was named Player of the Match.

‘Crucial’ victory

After losing their opening game against Australia in Manchester last week, the Proteas were relieved to bounce back and get points on the board, climbing to second place in what has been labelled the “group of death”.

“This was crucial. It’s always nice to get some momentum with a win,” Dercksen said.

“We’re well aware that every game now is sort of do-or-die for us, so we’re just looking forward to the next one. We’re happy we could build some momentum going into that match.”

Looking ahead to India, the 50-over world champions, in Manchester on Sunday, the Proteas believe they will be ready.

They will also draw confidence from their 4-1 series win over India in a five-match T20 series on home soil in April.

“We’ll definitely have our plans in place,” Dercksen said.

“I think we’ve got a phenomenal bowling line-up, so hopefully they’ll be able to do what they did again today against Pakistan. But they’re a quality batting side, and we’ll need to be at our best.”

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