India posted a competitive 251, thanks to strong knocks from Richa Ghosh (94) and Sneh Rana (33*), but South Africa’s late surge, led by Nadine de Klerk’s unbeaten 84, turned the game around, handing India their first defeat of the Women’s ODI World Cup.
India had the game well in control before Nadine de Klerk and Chloe Tyron changed the complexion of the game at the Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam. Chasing 252 runs, the Laura Wolvaardt-led side was reduced to 142/6 at one stage. The game was expected to end early in India’s favour, but the hosts weren’t ready for what was about to come.
Batting first, India too lost wickets at regular intervals before Richa Ghosh and Sneh Rana played some brilliant cricket to help the team post a respectable total on the board. Richa made 94 runs off 77 balls, while Rana remained unbeaten on 33 runs, as the duo stitched the fourth-highest partnership in women’s ODIs.
Courtesy of their impactful knocks, India posted 251 runs on the board, which was initially thought to be enough for the Women in Blue. Especially with how Kranti Gaud and Rana bowled in the middle. Both of them picked up two wickets each, but it was the last ten overs that pushed India out of the contest. Initially, it was Wolvaardt who kept the scoreboard ticking, despite losing wickets.
The charismatic chase
She made 70 runs, which set the platform for others to take control and finish the game. Tyron took over once she departed, scoring 49 runs. However, it was Nadine who won the game for South Africa in the end. Even when Tyron departed, things didn’t look easy for India at all, but Nadine dealt in boundaries, scoring an unbeaten 84 runs off 54 balls, to win the game.
Meanwhile, after the game, captain Harmanpreet noted that the wickets got better towards the end, but India experienced that first-hand itself. The surface helped the Indian team when Richa and Rana were batting in the middle, but it seemed that the management didn’t learn from that. They allowed the game to slip and registered their first defeat of the tournament. It looks worse as their first two wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan weren’t convincing either.