Pakistan have officially crashed out of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 in Colombo after suffering a massive 150-run loss against South Africa at the R Premadasa Stadium on Tuesday. Rain delays, revised targets, and wet conditions, nothing went their way. The Green Shirts’ campaign ended not with a fight, but with a whimper.
Rain, DLS Drama, and a Daunting Chase
It was one of those chaotic days that cricket often throws up. After multiple rain interruptions, Pakistan were set a revised target of 234 runs in 20 overs, an almost impossible chase in a pressure game.
But from the very start, the chase never got going. The South African bowlers were relentless, and Pakistan’s batting order simply couldn’t find rhythm.
The result: 83 for 7 in 20 overs and a painful exit from the tournament.
Wicket-keeper Sidra Nawaz offered some resistance with an unbeaten 22 off 33 balls, while Natalia Pervaiz chipped in with 20 from 24. The pair added 31 runs for the fifth wicket, Pakistan’s only notable partnership of the innings.
Meanwhile, Marizanne Kapp was the star with the ball for South Africa, claiming 3 for 20 in her five overs. Nondumiso Shangase and Ayabonga Khaka added to Pakistan’s misery with crucial wickets.
The emphatic win took South Africa to the top of the World Cup standings with 10 points from six games, solidifying their place in the semi-finals.
South Africa’s Ruthless Batting Display
Earlier in the day, Pakistan’s decision to field first backfired badly. South Africa took full advantage of the conditions and unleashed a batting onslaught, posting a mammoth 312 for 5 in 40 overs after a two-hour rain delay.
When the match resumed and the overs were shortened again, the adjusted DLS target only made things worse for Pakistan. A 234-run target in just 20 overs was always going to be a mountain too high to climb.
It was South Africa’s highest-ever total in a Women’s World Cup, a testament to how dominant their batting has become in recent years.
“Our Bowling Let Us Down”
After the match, captain Fatima Sana didn’t hold back in her assessment. She admitted that Pakistan’s normally reliable bowling unit had an off day.
“I think today is the day bowlers didn’t perform well. We have to accept it,” Fatima said at the post-match presentation. “They played very well, but we needed to be calmer in those situations.”
Fatima explained that the wet conditions following the rain made it extremely difficult for her bowlers to maintain control.
“After the rain, the conditions and the ball were wet. We tried to find rhythm but it was very difficult to bowl. We just tried to hit a good length but couldn’t execute the plans,” she added.
Despite the heavy defeat, Fatima maintained that the pitch was good for batting, but Pakistan’s top order collapsed too quickly to make any impact.
“The pitch was good and the way they batted showed that. But we lost early wickets and didn’t get partnerships. We just need to believe more in ourselves — maybe some batters didn’t have that belief,” she said.
A Campaign That Promised, But Didn’t Deliver
Pakistan’s Women’s World Cup campaign will be remembered as one filled with potential but lacking in execution. Their bowlers had been a strong point throughout the tournament, but when it mattered most, the discipline and control went missing.
The batting, too, struggled for consistency, often relying on one or two individual performances rather than collective effort.
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