Nadine de Klerk hit an unbeaten 84 off 54 balls under pressure to secure victory for the SA team.
Putting up a tremendous fight at the death, South Africa secured a spectacular three-wicket victory over hosts India on Thursday in their third match of the Women’s Cricket World Cup in Visakhapatnam.
Chasing a target of 252 runs to win, captain Laura Wolvaardt tried to keep the SA team afloat, but she did not receive much support from the side’s specialist batters.
Wolvaardt cemented herself at the crease, making 70 runs off 111 balls – her 36th ODI half-century – until she was eventually dismissed by a superb yorker from seam bowler Kranti Gaud in the 36th over of the innings.
However, all-rounders Chloe Tryon (49 off 66) and Nadine de Klerk (84 not out off 54) put up a tremendous fight down the order, sharing 69 runs for the seventh wicket to claw their way back into contention.
De Klerk was particularly impressive, hitting only her third ODI half-century to carry the Proteas to victory with a remarkable effort under pressure as she guided her team to 252/7 with seven balls to spare.
India innings
Earlier, after winning the toss and opting to bowl first (with the start of the game having been slightly delayed due to rain), the Proteas women did well to restrict India’s line-up, preventing them from building partnerships.
However, while they had the hosts reeling at 102/6, lower-order batter Richa Gosh resurrected India’s innings, contributing 94 off 77 to give her side some hope.
It was the most runs scored in an innings by a No 8 batter in women’s ODI cricket, with Ghosh hitting 20 runs more than the previous record of 74 set by Proteas player Tryon against Sri Lanka in Colombo earlier this year (a mark surpassed by De Klerk later in the match).
Spin bowler Tryon led the Proteas attack, ripping through India’s middle order to take 3/32, while Marizanne Kapp (2/45), Nonkululeko Mlaba (2/46) and Nadine de Klerk (2/52) took two wickets each.
Having picked up their second win in three matches at the global showpiece, South Africa climbed to fourth place in the league standings with four points.
