Classy Ismail holds nerve at the close to stop spirited Pakistan short
Quicks make the difference for South Africa as they win see-saw contest by six runs
Quicks make the difference for South Africa as they win see-saw contest by six runs
Scorer: @Thilak_Rama | Commentator: S. Sudarshanan
As far as this Women's World Cup is concerned, the juggernaut moves to Hamilton tomorrow, where West Indies take on India. Two wins out of two for the Caribbean side, while India dropped their previous game after beating Pakistan in the opener. The tournament is quite interestingly poised at the moment. Hope you enjoyed our coverage today, as I, S. Sudarshanan, bid you good-bye on behalf of Srivathsa and Thilak Rama. Stay safe and see ya, aficionados!
If you are South Africa, you would be happy to be getting wins from difficult situations. If you are Pakistan, you would be frustrated to repeatedly see the team miss the game after being in comfortable positions at various points. Nahida Khan, Omaima Sohail and Nida Dar chipped in with crucial contributions with the bat. But where was the support from the other end? Absent. Should Diana Baig have walked out to bat earlier? Should Muneeba Ali be brought in to strengthen the batting? These are some of the calls they would have to take.
Nandhana: "As a whole, all teams, other than NZ and AUS, have a below-par strike rate with the bat... Some serious batting mindset shift is required to survive the tournament."
Sune Luus It is nerve-wracking. No game is an easy game. It is encouraging to see we can still get over the line. These two games are out of the way and we need to look at what we need to improve on. I know there's a lot of people saying that South Africa and Australia should play the finals but we don't pay attention to that. Good to say different players come to party. Ismail was clinical and Chetty was good with the keeper. (Laughs and says "no comments" when asked if they need to practice getting direct hits right).
Bismah Maroof I think we were clinical with the ball and winning key moments was critical. We have the belief that we can win but credit to their bowlers. We fought hard but the better team won. We are improving ourselves and got to believe we can beat any team. In pressure situations, it is important to stay in the present and pick the right shots.
How good were South Africa's seam trio in Ismail, Marizanne Kapp and Ayabonga Khaka. Time and time again they deliver when needed. 223 was not enough, but they ensured that it was sufficient on the night, like they did against Bangladesh in their last match. South Africa should be careful that their batting doesn't always let the bowling do the heavy-lifting.
Vishall: "Pakistan lose 3 in 3. From now every match they play is a do or die situation for them. 4 games left and 4 wins required that too with healthy Run Rate."
Kapil Baldawa: "That's what I was fearing for and exactly that has happened. 10 runs or a lesser loss clearly shows they were so abysmal and dead slow between overs 20th and 40th overs and just a bit of smartness and intent would have meant they would have been on the winning side"
Three wickets, a crucial catch, superb spell, Shabnim Ismail is the Player of the Match: As a strike bowler, I like to come out at the death. I told Sune that I would bowl two at the death. I love catches, that catch was 100% mine. I don't take catches in warm-ups. I think batters need to put their heads down and bat. But as long as we are getting the wins. The way Klaas bowled was superb.
Shernawaz: "Nida Dar runnout was turning point for this game"
Sensonga: "Whatever the result, women's cricket got a lot more fans today.."
8:58pm 17th loss in a row for Pakistan in Women's World Cup, a jailbreak again for South Africa. It is the batting that has fallen short for the Asian team yet again. Their bowlers did well to keep South Africa to 223 but the finishing assault with the bat never came. Omaima Sohail and Nida Dar and then Dar and Diana Baig raised hopes. But the required rate was always getting away from them.
Ghulam Fatima run out 0 (4m 2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
saurav hindusth: "that was extra ordinary from Ismail" Indeed!
Diana Baig c & b Ismail 13 (13m 9b 2x4 0x6) SR: 144.44
Brits at cow corner now.
Ismail to bowl the final over. Ten runs needed for Pakistan.
A word of appreciation for Khaka for keeping her calm and collecting the throw that was a bit wide of the stumps. And then to run Dar out.
Baig on strike, Sandhu at the other end.
Quicks make the difference for South Africa as they win see-saw contest by six runs