IND-W vs SA-W

This Women's World Cup feels like a trip to an amusement park. It continues to dish out one rollercoaster after the other. The ride that we were on today, again, went through a myriad of twists and turns and in the end, South Africa ended up triumphant. 

With this, they climb to the fourth spot on the points table and take immense confidence into their next game, which will be played at the same venue against Bangladesh. Meanwhile, India have to prepare for a stiffer challenge — they face the mighty Aussies next. But before all of that, tomorrow — it is New Zealand vs Bangladesh. 

Can Sophie Devine and co. find their first win? We will find out together. For now, it is the duo of Darpan and Bidipto bidding you goodbye! Sayonara. 

Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa captain): "That was incredible. I don't think I have seen anything like that in my career. Nadine's knock was very very special. We had a lot of conversation after the first game of the tournament. We talked about staying in for as long as we can. That's what we did. So special (from Nadine de Klerk). She has been batting well in the nets, hitting the ball all over the park. Glad she could do it in the match. Richa batted incredibly well. We tried to go towards the wide line to her. But she batted really well. She is one of the best batters in the world."

Harmanpreet Kaur (India captain): "Tough game! Both teams played really well. Even though we collapsed while batting, we managed to reach 250. But when (Chole) Tryon and (Nadine) de Klerk batted, it looked like a batting paradise! They made it look so easy! Richa is someone who can change the course of an innings. Today, she was brilliant! Hope she carries on. Our top-order needs to fire now. We need it big time going forward. It's a long tournament, but there were lots of positives. We will keep ourselves in the positive frame of mind going into the next match." 

Nadine de Klerk (Player of the Match, 84* off 54 balls and 2/52 earlier in the 1st innings): "I'm lost for words now! But of course, great to see us win. After the first massive loss, to come back so well and pick up this win against India at their home, yes, it shows that we are capable of beating the big sides. When Chloe (Tryon) and I were batting, we wanted to take the game deep. We backed ourselves, even though we left a lot towards the back-end, but then we pulled it off. My role is to come out and put the bowlers under pressure, and that's what I did. I gave myself the best possible chance and I did it! We have a couple of days off, so, we have time to reflect on this and start afresh against Bangladesh!" 

11:23 PM IST: South Africa win by 3 wickets.

Nadine de Klerk 84* (54) & 2/52 (6.5) | Chloe Tryon 49 (66) & 3/32 (10)
Richa Ghosh 94 (77) | Sneh Rana 33 (24) & 2/47 (10)

Haven't you heard it a bazillion times before, "In cricket, it is never really over till its actually over". Today, a quintessential example was put on display. First, riding on a Richa Ghosh special, India recovered from a middle order collapse that had seen them go from 55/0 to 102/6. And then, South Africa fought back from a position where not many gave them a chance to register a win that their fans will not forget for a long long time.

Nadine de Klerk was the undisputed hero. She walked in after a scorching Kranti Goud yorker had sent skipper Laura Wolvaardt — who had fought hard for her 70 runs and held one end even as wickets kept tumbling from the other end — back to the dugout. South Africa still needed more than 100 runs to win off 14 overs and barely had any more batting to come. De Klerk smoked 84 off 54 balls, smashing 8 exquisite fours and 5 imperious sixes and got them home with 7 balls to spare.

Don't forget Chloe Tryon's contribution too. With her 3/32, she was one of the major reasons for that collapse in the Indian innings and then with a gritty 49, also the part of two pugnacious partnerships that became the launchpad for that Nadine de Klerk blitzkrieg. That leaves India, despite a a day where there were plenty of positives on display, with some questions to ponder.

Though, one must say that tonight was probably the best fielding performance that India has put in in a while. Also, it would be blasphemous to not talk about Richa Ghosh in detail. The wicket-keeper batter, typecasted as a finisher, had to come in way earlier than the what the team generally wants and she grabbed the opportunity with both hands. She exhibited maturity and grit in the right proportion before ultimately switching to mode turbo at the back end. Her 77-ball-94. was embeded with 11 authoritative fours and 4 commanding sixes. Alas, in the end, it was not enough. 

48.5 Amanjot Kaur to Nadine de Klerk, SOUTH AFRICA HAVE PULLED OFF A SUPERB CHASE! NADINE DE KLERK IS THE LADY TO DO IT! Low full toss on middle-stump. De Klerk makes some room, gets it in her arc and slams it way over wide long-on for a maximum to finish the job! After losing the first match by 10 wickets, the Proteas Women come back strong with two big wins! 

48.3 Amanjot Kaur to Nadine de Klerk, OHHH! DE KLERK IS ON FIRE TONIGHT! SIX RUNS! Very much in the slot on middle-stump and slow. Just a flick of the wrists over the wide mid-on area and it carries all the way over wide long-on! 

48.2 Amanjot Kaur to Nadine de Klerk, good length and slow around off. Nudged away to the right of the keeper but Richa stops this too! Dot ball. 

48.1 Amanjot Kaur to Nadine de Klerk, FINE STOP! DOT BALL. Full around off-stump. Punched off the front foot to the right of cover. But Harmanpreet dives and saves it! 

47.5 Deepti Sharma to Nadine de Klerk, SUPERB SHOT! NADINE DE KLERK, TAKE A BOW! Full on leg-stump. A bit of room made and a lovely scoop over the cover area for a boundary! 

47.4 Deepti Sharma to Ayabonga Khaka, low full toss on middle-stump. Driven down to the right of the bowler from the crease for an easy single!