Women's World Cup 2025: Nadine de Klerk’s Heroics Power South Africa to 3-Wicket Win Over India (X)
Women's World Cup 2025: The Indian women's cricket team suffered its first defeat in the Women's ODI World Cup 2025 on Thursday. South Africa defeated India by 3 wickets in a thrilling match, strengthening its position in the tournament. The African team achieved India's target of 252 runs in 48.5 overs for the loss of seven wickets. Nadine de Klerk, who played a brilliant unbeaten innings of 84 runs and shared a crucial partnership of 69 runs in 60 balls with Chloe Tryon, was the hero of this victory.
After losing the toss and opting to bat first, the Indian team had a poor start. By reaching 102, the team had lost six wickets. Opener Smriti Mandhana was dismissed for 23 and captain Harmanpreet Kaur for 9. The middle order also faltered, but wicketkeeper-batsman Richa Ghosh took charge and played a brilliant innings of 94 runs. She hit 8 fours and 3 sixes in just 77 balls to take the team to a respectable score.
South Africa's start to the chase was also poor. The top order fell cheaply, but De Klerk held one end together. She shared a crucial middle-order partnership with Marizanne Kapp (42). De Klerk and Tryon batted intelligently in the final overs and snatched the match from India's grasp. De Klerk remained unbeaten on 84, while Tryon contributed 36 runs. Deepti Sharma and Renuka Singh Thakur took two wickets each for India.
After the match, Nadine de Klerk said, "I'm at a loss for words. We worked hard for this win. Beating India in their home ground boosts our confidence. I enjoy playing under pressure, and Chloe Tryon took a lot of pressure off me. We knew that even if we needed 7-8 runs per over in the last 10 overs, we could stay in the match."
This defeat has made India's tournament journey a bit more challenging, while South Africa has made a strong statement in the World Cup.
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