South Africa Women beat India Women by 23 runs in the fifth T20 of the India Women tour of South Africa 2026, with Laura Wolvaardt producing the standout display in a superb 92 to set up a winning total of 155/6. India Women replied with 132/8, giving South Africa Women another strong result in a series they had largely controlled.
Wolvaardt was the heartbeat of the South Africa innings, making 92 out of 155 and giving the hosts both stability and momentum across the 20 overs. She found support from Sune Luus, who made 23, while Sinalo Jafta added 16 to help push the total to a competitive 155/6. India Women did keep striking through the middle and latter stages, with Renuka Singh, Shree Charani and Deepti Sharma all finishing with two wickets apiece, but Wolvaardt’s innings ensured South Africa still had a total worth defending.
India Women’s chase never quite gathered enough sustained momentum. Bharti Fulmali top-scored with 40, while Richa Ghosh contributed 25 and Harmanpreet Kaur made 22, yet the asking rate kept creeping up as South Africa’s bowlers held their nerve. Nonkululeko Mlaba and Nadine de Klerk took two wickets each, and Eliz-Mari Marx chipped in with one, helping restrict India Women to 132/8 from their 20 overs.
The decisive stretch came in the second half of the chase, when India needed a partnership to seriously threaten the target but could not produce one big enough. Fulmali’s 40 kept the innings alive, and with Richa and Harmanpreet also getting starts, there were moments when the visitors might have imagined a late surge. Instead, South Africa kept finding key dismissals and closed the match out with control to seal a 23-run win.
That result underlined how well South Africa Women handled this five-match T20 series. They won the opening three matches by 6 wickets, 8 wickets and 9 wickets respectively, before India Women hit back with a 14-run victory in Match 4. South Africa then responded immediately in Match 5 to finish the series on a high after taking four of the five matches.
Wolvaardt’s Player-of-the-Match performance was the defining effort of the contest. In a match where no India batter crossed 40, her 92 stood far above every other contribution and effectively became the difference between the two sides.
NerdSports Stat: Laura Wolvaardt scored 59.35% of South Africa Women’s total, while no India Women batter reached even half of her score in the chase.
Frequently Asked Questions
South Africa Women won the match by 23 runs.
Laura Wolvaardt was named Player of the Match for her 92 in South Africa Women’s total of 155/6.
South Africa Women finished the five-match T20 series with four wins from five matches after earlier victories in Matches 1, 2 and 3, while India Women won Match 4.
Laura Wolvaardt top-scored with 92 off balls not listed on the scorecard provided.
There is no next match in the series, as this was Match 5 of 5.
