Believe it.
The Proteas are genuine contenders for this ICC Women’s World Cup after Nadine de Klerk delivered a career-defining innings to halt India’s steam train in Visakhapatnam on Thursday evening.
A partisan home crowd looked on in shock as De Klerk belted five sixes and eight fours in her undefeated 84 off 54 balls to see her team past India’s 251 with three wickets and seven balls to spare.
De Klerk targeted the deep mid-wicket region, striking the ball sweetly into the Vizag air with enough power to clear the boundary with ease.
It was an incredible innings from the 25-year-old after the Proteas had slumped to 81/5, then 142/6 and 211/7 when Chloe Tyron departed for an equally valuable 49.
Captain Laura Wolvaardt had tried to keep everything together with a solid 70, and it seemed that she had left too much for the allrounders to get the team over the line.
But Tryon and De Klerk shared a 69-run seventh wicket partnership off just 60 balls to resuscitate the chase before the ginger-haired allrounder took centre stage in an unbroken 41-run stand off just 18 balls with tailender Ayabonga Khaka.
Kranti Goud set the ball rolling for India with a miraculous one-handed caught-and-bowled chance to send the in-form Tazmin Brits back to the pavilion early on.
Sune Luus did not last very long either before Marizanne Kapp, who had struck two fours and six in an attacking 20, was clean bowled by a pearler from Sneh Rana.
Anneke Bosch’s miserable World Cup continued with her second successive duck of the competition, and the Proteas brainstrust should surely now be seriously considering getting Annerie Dercksen into the playing XI.
Equally, Sinalo Jafta is not equipped to be batting at No 6, and her limitations were once again exposed when Shree Charani trapped her LBW.
The Proteas do have teenage wicket-keeper Karabo Meso in the squad, and the youngster could be an option to consider as the competition moves forward.
Tryon, though, battled on valiantly with the bat in the same way she had done earlier with the ball.
The allrounder delivered an excellent spell of left-arm spin bowling, and along with fellow ‘leftie’ Nonkululeko Mlaba had India in all sorts of trouble at 102/6 before the hosts’ wicketkeeper Rischa Gosh bludgeoned an equally brilliant 94 off 77 balls (11×4, 9×6) to resuscitate her team’s innings.
Gosh was excellent during the “death overs” with the Proteas bleeding 98 runs in the final 10.
But ultimately was not enough on a night that belonged to De Klerk and the Proteas, who have preserved their 100% record against India in World Cups.
The victory moves the Proteas up to fourth position just behind India on the World Cup table.
ICC WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
India: 251 all out off 49.5 overs (Gosh 94, Rawal 37, Rana 33, Tryon 3/32, Kapp 2/45, Mlaba 2/46)
South Africa: 252/7 off 48.5 overs (De Klerk 84*, Wolvaardt 70, Tryon 49, Rana 2/47)
South Africa won by 3 wickets.
