India and the hosts South Africa suffered disappointing warm-up losses to Bangladesh and Australia, while Rwanda warmed up for their first-ever ICC World Cup with a thrilling surprise victory over Ireland.
Shorna Akter's unbeaten 75 off 54 balls, including two fours and seven sixes, helped Bangladesh to 121/7 at St Stithians ground in Johannesburg. India appeared to be in command of the chase with all but two wickets in hand, but miscalculated the required run rate and fell agonisingly short of their target on 118/2.
South Africa, on the other hand, were bowled out for 61 against Australia, who were heavily favoured. Karabo Meso (24 from 20 balls) was the only South African batter to reach double figures, while Australia was led by Rhys McKenna (3/7) and Charl Bekker (2/6).
Australia dropped two early wickets to Kayla Reyneke (2/5) before Ella Hayward (34 not out from 30 balls) and Claire Moore (21 from 26 balls) combined to complete the eight-wicket victory and send a warning shot to the rest of the competition.
Rwanda overcame their relative inexperience with controlled innings to score 103/7, with four batters reaching double figures. Belise Murekatete (26 from 28 balls) was the standout batter, as her heroics in the middle innings ensured Rwanda's competitive total.
Ireland openers Siuin Woods (16 from 26 balls) and captain Amy Hunter (41 from 47 balls) both took early wickets, as did first-drop Joanna Loughran (27 from 37 balls), but they were unable to pick up the pace late when needed, as Rwanda won by one run.
Other notable results included New Zealand comfortably chasing down Pakistan's 109/6 total with seven wickets and more than five overs in hand after openers Antonia Hamilton (36 not out from 34 balls) and Georgia Plimmer (27 from 20 balls) set the tone with a commanding start.
Pakistan opener Eyman Fatima (45 from 46 balls) and first-drop Warda Yousaf (23 from 43 balls) fought hard against the Kiwi quicks, but their slower scoring burdened the middle order.
The West Indies warmed up with a commanding performance, limiting Zimbabwe to 71/8 from 20 overs. Jahzara Claxton, a medium pacer, stood out with some tight bowling and two wickets. Opener Shunelle Sawh (19 from 37 balls) and number three Naijanni Cumberbatch (22 from 21 balls) both contributed to a six-wicket victory.
England defeated Indonesia by a 10-wicket margin, chasing down the required 46 runs with 14.5 overs to spare. The chase was easily completed by openers Grace Scrivens (26 from 15 balls) and Niamh Holland (19 from 17).
England used the Indonesia innings to test eight bowlers, with Ryana Macdonald-Gay being the only one who used her entire allocation. The right-armer was arguably the most impressive with figures of 2/8.
The USA put in a composed display as they posted 122/7 and then restricted the UAE to 91/6. Sri Lanka also impressed as they dismissed Scotland for 87 and then chased it down with seven wickets in hand.