Sana sparkles with bat and ball to give Pakistan consolation win
Aliya Riaz made a key contribution with the bat, and Sadia Iqbal picked up three wickets as South Africa went down by 53 runs after having won the series by the second game
ESPNcricinfo staff
Feb 17, 2026, 4:17 AM • 1 hr ago
Fatima Sana led Pakistan's batting charge • Cricket South Africa
Pakistan 144 for 7 (Sana 47*, Mlaba 1-22) beat South Africa 91 (Dercksen 30, Iqbal 3-18, Sana 2-12) by 53 runs
Fatima Sana put on an outstanding all-round performance, and had enough colleagues making useful contributions, to take Pakistan to a consolation win in the third T20I against South Africa in Benoni on Monday. Despite the 53-run loss, South Africa took the series 2-1.
Sana, later named Player of the Match and Player of the Series, needed to make an impact with the bat when she walked out at 68 for 5 in the 12th over after she had opted to bat upon winning the toss.
It was not a terrible situation, but hardly a confidence-inducing one for Pakistan. But Sana and Aliya Riaz collaborated for a 70-run partnership for the sixth wicket in just 45 balls to change the complexion of the game. Riaz added 22 runs with Sana, who contributed 41 in 23 balls to the stand, before Riaz was run out for 26 in 25 balls.
Sana ended unbeaten on 47 off 30 balls, with four fours and two sixes, to set South Africa 145 to win.
And by five overs, Sana and Sadia Iqbal had sent back Tazmin Brits, Lara Goodall, Dane van Niekerk and Laura Wolvaardt to leave South Africa in a shambles at 30 for 4.
The fightback came from Nadine de Klerk and Annerie Dercksen, who added 55 for the fifth wicket, but while de Klerk scored 27 in 30 balls and Dercksen 30 in 38, it was slow going - their partnership spanned 65 balls - and when Dercksen and de Klerk fell within three balls of one another between the 15th and 16th overs, the game had swung conclusively Pakistan's way.
Iqbal ended with 3 for 18, finishing the game off with the wicket of Nonkululeko Mlaba in the 17th over of South Africa's innings - Marizanne Kapp, who was ill, didn't bat - while Sana had 2 for 12.
The two teams next face-off in a three-match ODI series, with the games slotted for Bloemfontein (February 22), Centurion (February 25) and Durban (March 1).