Nadine de Klerk (84 not out) led South Africa to a three-wicket victory over India in their Women’s World Cup encounter on Thursday in Visakhapatnam, despite Richa Ghosh’s futile 77-ball 94.
Chloe Tryon’s 49, captain Laura Wolvaardt’s 70, and de Klerk’s game-winning knock—which included five sixes and eight fours from 54 balls—led South Africa’s run chase of 252 as they ended up with 252/7 in 48.5 overs.
It looked as though South Africa’s chase was over when half of their batters went back to the hut with less than 100 runs on the board. SA started to slip when pacer Kranti Gaud made a spectacular return catch to eliminate opener Tazmin Brits for naught.
South Africa fell to 81 for five, and veterans Marizanne Kapp, Sune Luus, Anneke Bosch, and Sinalo Jafta did not last long in the middle. Wolvaardt and Chloe Tryon added 51 runs for the sixth wicket to steady the run chase.
She reached her fifty in 81 balls after putting on some magnificent drives, but Gaud came back to break the partnership with a fiery yorker that tore through Wolvaardt’s defense.
At that point, the Proteas were 142 for six and still 110 runs short of the target.
However, Tryon and De Klerk, who clobbered Gaud for two consecutive sixes, withstood the Indian attack’s diversity by stitching together 69 runs for the seventh wicket, which brought their team closer to the finish line.
The visitors required 52 runs from the final five overs, and De Klerk’s strength and caution helped them overcome the 10-run-per-over position. Ghosh had previously shown many of the same traits to glide to an innings of uncommon genius in 77 balls (11×4, 4×6).
After entering at 102 for six, the right-hander found ideal placement and pace during her fifty. Ghosh added 51 runs for the seventh wicket with Amanjot Kaur to begin the rescue effort.
With two slog-swept sixes from Tumi Sekhukhune and Nadine de Klerk giving her some tempo, Ghosh, a power batter, restrained her impulses and reached her fifty in 53 balls. However, India was once again pinned back at 153 for seven when Kaur departed in her attempt to increase the scoring rate.
However, Ghosh found a dependable partner in Sneh Rana (33), as the duo added a valuable 88 runs off just 53 balls for the eighth wicket.
Rana’s solid presence at the other end gave Ghosh the confidence to cut loose. Dropped on 76 and again on 84, Ghosh capitalised on those chances, tearing into the South African attack in the latter stages of her innings, where she hammered 44 runs off her last 24 balls.
Ghosh was very close to reaching her first ODI century, but she was dismissed in the last over while pursuing some quick runs.
India has batted on three decks, including Guwahati and Colombo, and the ACA-VDCA Stadium surface was arguably the best. However, they were unable to fully utilize it after being asked to bat.
However, with openers Pratika Rawal (37) and Smriti Mandhana (23) scoring 55 runs in 10.2 overs, the start looked promising. With a booming straight six off pacer Ayabonga Khaka, a guarded Mandhana attempted to break the shackles but was quickly dismissed by left-arm spinner Noku Mlaba.
India then fell to 83 for one thanks to Rawal and Harleen Deol (13) before the latter’s demise caused a collapse in which the hosts lost five wickets for just 19 runs.
It may have been influenced by the persistent line and slight turn of the South African bowlers, but the Indian batters were also guilty of attempting to push the pace.
Deol fell to a beauty from Mlaba, the ball turning away sharply to square her up. Soon after, Rawal attempted to flick pacer Tumi Sekhkhune to the leg side, but a leading edge flew straight to Brits, ending her stay.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur attempted a thunderous shot off spinner Tryon, but Kapp caught another leading edge. India slipped to 102 for six when Jemimah Rodrigues missed the sweep against Tryon and fell leg before and Deepti Sharma was caught down the leg side.
