South Africa Climbs to Fourth After Thrilling Victory in Women’s World Cup

VISAKHAPATNAM: A resilient half-century by captain Laura Wolvaardt, combined with Nadine de Klerk’s impressive unbeaten 84, propelled South Africa to a captivating three-wicket win over India in the tenth match of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025. The match occurred at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Chasing a target of 252, the Proteas secured the winning runs with five balls remaining. De Klerk sealed the victory by hitting Amanjot Kaur for a significant six over deep mid-wicket, securing her team’s second successive triumph in the competition.

However, South Africa’s innings began poorly, with Kaur and Kranti Gaud making early breakthroughs, leaving them at 18/2 within the first six overs.

Following these early setbacks, experienced all-rounder Marizanne Kapp (20) partnered with Wolvaardt for a steadying 39-run stand for the third wicket before being dismissed by Sneh Rana in the 14th over.

The Proteas then encountered further losses, slipping to 81/5 in 19.4 overs.

Amidst the struggles, Wolvaardt remained composed and found valuable support from Chloe Tryon.

Wolvaardt and Tryon orchestrated a recovery, adding 61 runs for the sixth wicket. This partnership ended with the captain’s dismissal in the 36th over.

Wolvaardt was the leading scorer with 70 runs from 111 balls, including eight boundaries.

De Klerk, batting at number eight, launched a counter-attacking innings, scoring a rapid half-century and guiding South Africa to a hard-fought three-wicket victory with seven balls to spare.

She remained unbeaten with 84 runs off 54 balls, hitting eight fours and five sixes. Tryon provided valuable support with 49 runs off 66 balls, which included five boundaries.

For India, Rana and Gaud each claimed two wickets, while Shree Charani, Deepti Sharma, and Kaur took one wicket apiece.

After being put in to bat, the Indian team scored 251 runs before being bowled out in 49.1 overs.

India’s innings began favorably, with Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal putting on 55 runs before Mandhana was dismissed by Nonkululeko Mlaba in the 11th over.

Mandhana scored 23 runs off 32 balls, including one six and a four.

Her dismissal triggered a collapse, with India losing six wickets for 98 runs in 178 balls, falling to 153/7 in 40 overs.

Following the slump, wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh led an impressive fightback with a quickfire half-century, top-scoring with 94 runs off 77 balls, including 11 fours and four sixes.

She also shared a vital 88-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Sneh Rana, who contributed 33 runs off 24 balls before being dismissed by Marizanne Kapp in the 48th over.

Chloe Tryon was the most successful bowler for South Africa, taking 3/32 in her 10 overs. Nonkululeko Mlaba, Nadine de Klerk, and Kapp each took two wickets, while Tumi Sekhukhune claimed one.