It needed something special to upstage that innings from Richa Ghosh but Nadine de Klerk has just done it. What an absolute roller-coaster of a game, which has gone South Africa's way. And that's helped South Africa move into the top four of the points table. Their NRR is still -0.888, after their loss vs England, but they will believe they can still make it to the semis. As far as India are concerned, they will want to put this game behind them and get ready for the Australia challenge on Sunday. Thanks for tuning in tonight. Until tomorrow, this is me Ashish Pant, signing off on behalf of Shashwat Kumar, Ranjit and Raghav. Ciao!
Charlie: "Has to be the highest aggregate of runs scored by two number 8s in ODI history!" Yes, highest across men's and women's ODIs. Previous highest in Women's ODIs was 90, Richa alone scored 94.
Iyer: "Did not know that AB de Villiers also had a sister."
BK: "Although we lost the match but it was a good cricket. Very interesting and nail biting match. "
Rajkumar Lingav: "SA 69 all out against Eng took it up on their chin, came back with back-to-back wins required a special effort. WHAT A TEAM!!!"
Here's Sampath:
1) So far in this Women's World Cup:
For wicket No. 1 to 4 - 1774 Runs, 11 fifty-plus stands including one century stand
For the 5th and lower - 1740 Runs, 10 fifty-plus stands including two century stands
2) South Africa scored 171 runs after the fall of fifth wicket, the most by any team in a successful chase in Women's ODIs
Laura Wolvaardt: It was incredible. I don't think I have seen something like that all my career. That was a special innings. I am still at loss for words. We found ourselves in a little bit of pickle. We have had lots of conversations about the first game and how to deal with it. We knew we were ahead of them runs wise. We wanted to take the game deep and needed something special. We got that. [On de Klerk] So special, she has been hitting like that in the nets against all our bowlers and glad that it came off in the game. She timed the chase really well. [On where it went wrong while bowling] Richa batted incredibly. We tried the wide plan, but she wanted us to do that. She is one of the best in the world in the death 201- 220 we would have been but I am glad we matched that. Our pace bowlers bowled pretty well. The spin was tougher to hit. It was great to restrict them to 250.
Harmanpreet Kaur: Tough game, both teams played really well. We collapsed while batting but still got to 250. We got the early wickets, but de Klerk batted really well. The way they batted, the pitch looked very different. They deserve to win. [On Ghosh] Richa has been outstanding for us. Today we were very pleased too see Richa's hitting. She can get the big totals. Hope she continues. We didn't take the responsibility as a top-order. We have to change things. We have to get the good totals. It is a long tournament. It was a tough game, but lots of learnings. We need to keep ourselves in the positive frame.
Nadine de Klerk is the player of the match: Look I am lost for words. We have done lots of good things and to finish off the game, take the game deep and get over the line is great. I do like being under pressure. I love the World Cups. No bigger stage than playing at India at their home. We had to be at our best. Like I said, it is great to get over the line. We are capable of beating the best sides in the world. We just had to take it deep. We are a very good side in the backend. Even if we need 7 or 8, we will be able to do it. Chloe took the pressure off me, also Laura was great. Great to get over the line. [Power-hitting] It comes quite natural. That is my role in the side. I have to finish off the game. I had some time. It looked a good wicket. I wanted to give myself some chance. We have a couple of days off, and I just want to reflect on this and get ready for the Bangladesh game
11.25pm Oh, my word! What a win from South Africa, what an innings from de Klerk. WOWZA! 84 off 54 balls under high pressure, and she's taken her side home with seven balls to spare. South Africa lost their two run-scorers from the previous game, Brits and Luus relatively early. Laura Wolvaardt took her time to get going, and once she fell, it looked really tough for South Africa. Chloe Tryon couldn't get the ball of the square, with the India spinners tightening their grip. But de Klerk changed the complexion of the game. She understood the pace of the surface and hit her straps from the get-go. SA still required 52 off 30 balls and 41 off 24 when Tryon fell. But de Klerk added an unbroken 41 off 18 balls with Khaka to take South Africa to victory.
Six needed
