Debutant Kayla Reyneke saves South Africa despite Fatima Sana's 90

Fatima Sana's quickfire 90 from No.8 was in vain in the face of South Africa newcomer Kayla Reyneke's all-round display, highlighted by a six off the last ball to clinch victory over Pakistan in the first T20I at Potchefstroom.

Sana's 90 off 41 balls was her maiden half-century in T20Is and the highest individual score in the format by a woman batting at No. 7 or lower, propelling Pakistan to 180 for 9, their second-highest T20I score.

Pakistan captain Sana struck seven sixes and nine fours to rescue her team from 64 for 6 in an innings where their next-best batter, Natalia Pervaiz, managed just 20.

But South Africa produced their highest successful run chase in Women's T20Is - the third-highest overall - thanks to Reyneke, making her international debut.

Reyneke, the former South Africa Under-19 captain, helped restrict Pakistan with her 2 for 13 in four overs, including the wickets of opener Gull Feroza for 13 and Pervaiz. She then smashed an unbeaten 29 off 16 balls, including the winning runs to secure Player of the Match honours.

Reyneke hit three sixes in all. Her effort over long-on from the bowling of Sana in the penultimate over left South Africa needing 10 to win off the last.

At that point, Sana turned to her debutant seamer Humna Bilal to bowl the final over. Reyneke's driven four off the third ball reduced South Africa's requirement to four off three but she and Derksen could only manage singles of the next two deliveries. With two more needed, Reyneke launched the last ball for six over extra cover to seal the result.

South Africa had been cruising at 133 for 2 as Laura Wolvaardt, their captain, reached 61 off 38 balls, adding 62 runs with Sune Luus for the second wicket and 46 with Dane van Niekerk for the third. But Wolvaardt's dismissal, stumped off the bowling of Nashra Sandhu, sparked a mini-collapse of three wickets for 14 runs in the space of 12 balls.

It fell to Reyneke and Annerie Dercksen to hold things together for the hosts, which they did via an unbroken 38-run stand, capped by Reyneke's last-ball heroics to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

With the T20 World Cup looming in England in June, Reyneke appears to have delivered on her promise early. Upon her first senior call-up for the Pakistan series, Clinton du Preez, the convenor of selectors, said: "Kayla Reyneke has always been a talent to watch. She has recently shown clear growth in both her skill set and maturity in her game. This selection is a nod to her consistent progress and allows her to showcase what she can do at an international level."