India and South Africa take semi-final fight to final dayFigure caption, India remain in hunt for semi-final spot with victory over BangladeshByFfion WynneBBC Sport JournalistPublished25 June 2026, 17:54 BSTUpdated 23 minutes agoICC Women’s T20 World Cup, Group 2, Old TraffordBangladesh 136-8 (20 overs): Ferdous 33 (31); Yadav 3-28India 139-5 (16.5 overs): Shafali 53 (34); Ritu 2-29India won by five wicketsScorecard, Table
Wins for India and South Africa at the Women’s T20 World Cup ensured the fight for semi-final qualification will go to the final day of the group stage.
India beat Bangladesh by five wickets and face Australia, who are top of Group One, in the final fixture at Lord’s on Sunday knowing they will likely need to beat the six-time champions to qualify.
South Africa thrashed winless Netherlands by 88 runs and will need to beat Bangladesh in their final game and hope that India lose, otherwise it will go down to net run-rate. Bangladesh also retain a slim chance of progression.
In Thursday’s first game, India chased a below-par 137 at Old Trafford as opener Shafali Verma struck 53 from 34 balls, and they reached their target in 16.5 overs.
But if they are to overcome the unbeaten Australians, India’s fielding will need to improve significantly. A sloppy performance saw them drop four catches in the first five overs and the innings was littered with misfields.
Despite that, there was a glaring difference in quality between the teams as Bangladesh were unable to punish the mistakes as they scraped to 136-8.
Juairiya Ferdous top-scored with 33 while captain Nigar Sultana Joty added 32, but India’s spin-heavy approach prevailed once more as Radha Yadav took 3-28 and Sree Charani 2-21.
India lost Smriti Mandhana early before Shafali took charge and the chase slowed after her dismissal in the ninth over, but Jemimah Rodrigues’ 26 from 15 helped them over the line.
