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It was another cracker of a game involving South Africa Women, and it was another case of them holding on to their nerves and getting the job done finally! We were thrilled to bring you the live coverage of this encounter, but you do not go anywhere from Sportskeeda, as the tournament now looks for its four semi-finalists! Next up, it is the Bangladesh Women, who have been highly impressive thus far, against the West Indies Women, in search of another victory to ease their nerves from a semi-final qualification point of view. For now, this is the pair of Pratyush and Bidipto, saying good bye!
MATCH SUMMARY
New Zealand Women, batting first - 228 all out in 47.5 overs; Sophie Devine 93 (101) South Africa Women, batting second - 229 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 49.3 overs; Laura Wolvaardt 67 (94)
South Africa Women beat New Zealand Women by 2 wickets.
Player of the Match: Marizanne Kapp - 34* (35) (4x4) and [10-0-44-2]
When South Africa Women play, there is no shortage of excitement and drama and once again, we were witness to plenty of drama today at Seddon Park in Hamilton, with South Africa Women pipping their New Zealand counterparts by only 2 wickets, with just 3 balls to spare!
The match looked to be firmly in South Africa's control till the second drinks break. Sune Luus and Laura Wolvaardt were taking their team home quite comfortably and New Zealand Women were left dumbfound as to what to do to change things till then. After the break, Amelia Kerr made sure that the comeback from the hosts was on for sure, with double strikes in two overs, getting rid of the set Wolvaardt, followed by the experienced Mignon du Preez. Hannah Rowe was not to be left behind as she too got the all-important wicket of the South African captain to change the complexion of the match at that stage.
Suddenly, the entire pressure was back on South Africa with two new batters at the crease, neither known for their touch game. But both Marizanne Kapp and Chloe Tryon went well after that, until the time Frances Mackay got one to spin more, and force Tryon to go big over the top on the on-side, only to get caught at deep mid-wicket and keep New Zealand's pressure maintained.
Trisha Chetty seemed to get the job done then with Kapp striking them well at the other end, when a rush of blood from the wicket-keeper batter against Mackay saw her top-edge one and get caught by the off-spinner herself, adding more thrill to the finish!
Shabnim Ismail then walked out and started looking positive at the crease, but that turned out to be a bit too much in the second-last over as she tried to make too much room to hit through the off-side, getting her stumps uprooted instead by Sophie Devine.
What helped South Africa at that stage was the boundaries from Marizanne Kapp, both after Ismail's wicket against Devine, and to start the last over against Frances Mackay, and all Ayabonga Khaka was left to do was somehow get a run to win it for her team, which she managed to do!
Marizanne Kapp was once again adjudged the player of the match for her all-round, match-winning performance and the South African bowling in the slog overs needed to be thanked for their magnificent comeback to restrict New Zealand under 230.
A couple of chances were spilled by New Zealand behind the stumps, that did prove costly in the end. The bowling from Amelia Kerr and Hannah Rowe was outstanding, as they were the reasons why New Zealand could come back in the match.
Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus continue their good form with the bat for South Africa, with Marizanne Kapp contributing when it matters.
South Africa Women are in the second position now with four wins out of four matches, while New Zealand Women have nothing else to do but win their remaining matches, as they are placed fifth in the standings currently, with two matches remaining.
South Africa Women captain, Sune Luus: Obviously a roller-coaster of emotions but happy to get the win. Sophie Devine batted really well, and with them being 200 at 40 overs, we pulled things back really well. With the bat, Laura and I put up a good partnership and carried on well but I guess one of us had to get going even further. Marizanne Kapp of course was at her best with the bat, finishing things off. We now have Australia coming up, that will be a challenge but we will play pressure-free cricket and give them some tough fight.
New Zealand Women captain, Sophie Devine: I thought Amelia Kerr was outstanding, she picked up those two quick wickets and brought us back into the match. We spoke about keeping out their strike bowlers and we did get a good partnership going, but we needed more good knocks in the middle. I got out at the wrong time to be honest. We were a little bit too wide with our line and we could have taken some more chances in the field. But credit to South Africa for the way they batted. It will definitely be a big game against England and we will surely be up for it.
Marizanne Kapp is the player of the match. Yes, again! Here's what she has to say: These games have to stop now. I'm tired (laughs). It was a team effort. We weren't at our best but we believe the perfect game is just around the corner. We bowled a bit better against England, to be honest. Our batters have been struggling but I am expecting them to come back stronger. (On batting with Luus) Always nervous in these kinds of games. It was brilliant today. But you can never relax. You see how a game can change in an instant. I wasn't too happy with my bowling today, to be honest. We just need a few more people to pick up the strands and we'll be good.
South Africa get the better of another nail-biting match! They win by 2 wickets with 3 balls left!
49.3 Frances Mackay to Ayabonga Khaka, SOUTH AFRICA WIN ANOTHER NAIL-BITER! They're making a cheeky little habit of doing this in the tournament. It was a bit short outside off, Khaka stays on the back foot and punches it to mid-off. Decided a tad late to take off the for the single but she's made it comfortably in the end. This is South Africa's first win against the White Ferns in a World Cup match. Kapp lets out a huge roar. She's there at the end to get her side over the line once more! New Zealand, on the other hand, are on the brink of an early exit now. Another brilliant contest in this tournament. South Africa maintain their unbeaten streak with awin by 2 wickets.
Everybody is inside the circle now, except deep mid-wicket.
One run to win from four balls.
49.2 Frances Mackay to Marizanne Kapp, full and into the pads, Kapp clips it through mid-wicket to take the single and level the scores! Kapp's having a long-hard chat with Khakha after that delivery. "Do not do anything silly", will be the message!
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Seddon Park, Hamilton
