Wednesday Oct 22, 2025
Wednesday Oct 22, 2025
Tuesday, 14 October 2025 01:46 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Mariazanne Kapp brought her experience to fore with timely fifty, Chloe Tryon kept momentum going for South Africa with fifty, Sharmin Akhter plays on off side during her half century, Shorna Akhter celebrates her fifty
In a classic game of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, South Africa held their nerve to pull off a thrilling three wickets win with three balls to spare against Bangladesh at Visakhapatnam yesterday.
It was Nadine de Klerk who came up trumps again. She did it against India the other night and yesterday she pulled it off again in a tense chase. It was always going to be tough against a Bangladesh side stacked with spinners chasing 233. Tazmin Brits fell for a duck and then the set Anneke Bosch and Laura Wolvaardt were involved in a mix-up which cost the latter her wicket. The former went in the next over and the debutant Annerie Dercksen soon after. At that stage, Bangladesh were well ahead with South Africa on 78-5. But the cool and calm heads of Marizanne Kapp (56 off 71 balls, 4 fours, 1 six) and Chloe Tryon (62 off 69 balls, 6 fours, 1 six) put South Africa back on track. Their stand of 85 off 109 balls involved good running and calculated risks. With the dew coming down quite heavily, Bangladesh failed to grip the ball and that ultimately cost them the game. Kapp got out which again opened the door for Bangladesh and when Tryon was run-out, Bangladesh really believed they could pull it off. But Nadine de Klerk (37* off 29 balls, 4 fours, 1 six) and Masabata Klaas (10* off 13) took their side home with some help from Bangladesh’s fielders who dropped de Klerk in the penultimate over. It eventually proved to be costly for Bangladesh as de Klerk finished the match off with a six as she had done against India.
Bangladesh finished strong to their innings led by Shorna Akter who smashed an unbeaten 51 off just 35 balls (3 fours, 3 sixes) to provide the final flourish that her team so desperately needed, having taken an ultra-cautious approach with the bat at the beginning. Shorna became the first Bangladeshi woman to hit three sixes in an ODI innings. Ritu Moni played her part too with a quick-fire 19 off 8 and together they gave Bangladesh something to defend. Bangladesh openers put on a 50-run stand but took almost 16 overs to do so. Even till the halfway stage, they had only 73 on the board. But with wickets in hand and Shorna showing her big-hitting ability, the momentum picked up in the latter stages.
Scores: Bangladesh Women 232-6 (50) (Fargana Hoque 30, Rubya Haider 25, Sharmin Akhter 50, Nigar Sultana 32, Shorna Akhter 51*, Nonkululeku Mlaba 2/42)
South Africa Women 235-7 (49.3) (Laura Wolvaardt 31, Anneke Bosch 28, Marizanne Kapp 56, Chloe Tryon 62, Nadine de Klerk 37*, Nahid Akter 2/44)
