IND W vs SA W | Twitter impressed as De Klerk and Tryon power South Africa to improbable win against India

‌South Africa Women brought a high-flying Indian team to ground with a thrilling three-wicket win in the Women’s ODI World Cup in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. Nadine de Klerk swashbuckling half-century overshadowed Richa Ghosh’s maiden ODI fifty in the marquee event, while Chloe Tryon came up with an all-round performance as the visitors inflicted India with their first defeat in this edition.

After being put into bat at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium, India got off to a flying start with Pratika Rawal hitting two fours off Marizanne Kapp in the first over of the game. However, her senior partner Smriti Mandhana looked out of sorts as she struggled to get going. But the pair added 55 runs in the mandatory powerplay of 10 overs before Mandhana’s indifferent innings ended in the next, with Nonkululeko Mlaba striking in her first over. Soon, Mlaba and fellow left-arm spinner Chloe Tryon spun a web around the Indian batters as the Women in Blue slid from 83/1 to 102/6 in the gap of nine overs. But, just as in their previous game against Pakistan, Richa Ghosh came to the hosts’ rescue. The wicketkeeper-batter found the boundary cushions frequently to keep India’s scoreboard ticking and added a valuable 51-run partnership with Amanjot Kaur for the seventh wicket. The wicketkeeper-batter reached her first fifty, off 53 balls, in the ODI World Cup as India went closer to the 200-run mark with six overs remaining. Richa then shifted gears to tonk medium-pacer Ayabonga Khaka for two fours and a six in a 19-run over. It looked like she would get to her maiden international century after scoring consecutive boundaries off Nadine de Klerk in the final over, but found the fielder in the next ball while trying to clear long-on. The Indian innings folded out for 251, with one ball to spare, courtesy of Richa’s 77-ball 94, a knock which included 11 fours and four sixes. She was well-supported by Sneh Rana, who had six fours in her knock of 33 off 24 balls, as India plundered 98 runs in the last 10 overs. Tryon was the most impressive among the Proteas bowlers with a spell of 3/32 in 10 overs, while Mlaba had 2/46.

In reply, South Africa did not have the best of starts, with Kranti Gaud pulling off a one-handed stunner to dismiss in-form Tazmin Brits for a duck in the third over. Sune Luus, who came in at number three, also departed three overs later, nicking Amanjot Kaur to wicketkeeper Richa. Though captain Laura Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp helped the visitors recover briefly, Sneh brought in the much-needed breakthrough as she castled the latter with a beauty. Shortly, her spin bowling partners Deepti Sharma and Shree Charani also opened their accounts as the Proteas slid to 81/5. Wolvaardt waged a lone battle with a fighting half-century to keep South Africa in the hunt, though the asking rate kept moving upward. But Gaud ended her 111-ball 70, which included eight fours, with a perfect yorker. However, Nadine de Klerk and Chloe Tryon came up with an excellent rearguard action to bail out the Proteas from a bothering position. They put on 69 runs for the seventh wicket before de Klerk’s unbelievable six-hitting took the side home seven balls to spare. She remained unbeaten on 84 off 54 balls, with five sixes and eight fours as South Africa ended at 252/7. Meanwhile, Tryon complemented her bowling performance with a gritty 49 off 66 balls. For India, Gaud and Sneh picked up two wickets each, while Amanjot, Charani and Deepti had one apiece.

Has it happened

In 2011 men's team lost to SA and won the WC. Can it happen with Harry Di's team? 

— Kushan Sarkar (@kushansarkar) 

Wow

Both no 8s scoring 80+

Has this happened before in ODI cricket both mens and womens ?

— Prithvi (@Prithvi10_) 

Waka waka

This time for Africa.

— Shivani (@meme_ki_diwani) 

Phenomenal

Phenomenal win for SA. The result serves a cold reminder to India that lower order rescue acts will not be enough against better teams. Can’t play an extra batter, compromise on bowling and still have par returns. The good news is, there’s still time left in the tournament. Big…

— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) 

Yup

Makes me smile even in the worst of times.



Absolute gold from Gulbadin. Selfless AF!  

— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) 

Point to be noted

the last time we lost a league game by 3 wkts against SA in a home WC.. 

— soo washed (@anubhav__tweets) 

A compromise

To maximise batting depth, India compromised on bowling.



It did not work out today. Let us see what happens in the long run. 

— Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) 

Get renuka

Next match get Renuka in dropping any batter or Aussies will smash the asses. This bowling unit is average.

— arfan (@Im__Arfan) 

Uff

And now . Uff! 

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) 

Of course

I don’t remember the last time Tryon scored 30+, but of course, it’s India who helped her get back in form. 😓

— Bleed Blue (@CricCrazyVeena)